How We Ended Up Here
by WrenWinterSong
Summary: Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy share a long and complicated relationship. But two years after they leave Hogwarts, they must face all of their history inside an interrogation room in front of a crowd of Aurors. ((Not CC compliant))
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** A huge thank you to all of my beta readers for polishing this story into the best version it can be. You guys are the best and bring such different perspectives to this story. It would not be the same without all of you. Thanks!

To my readers, I will try to update this story as quickly as possible. My goal is about every week, but don't be surprised if those seven days slide into ten or twelve. As always, reviews are welcomed with open arms and they do wonders for a writer's motivation when one is struggling with writer's block. I big pre-thank you to anyone who does review. You are awesome!

Some disclaimers, I own nothing in the Harry Potter universe. All of that can only come from the brilliant JK Rowling. This story is as canon-compliant as I can make it, at least until Cursed Child is released. After that, all of this becomes fanon and possibly AU. One final note, the story and chapter titles are all taken from Marianas Trench's "While We're Young". Give it a listen if you like good music.

Hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _i wish somehow we could go back to where we came_

.

The interrogation room door opens too easily, swinging in at the slightest touch of my hand. I'm not ready to see him yet, but there he is, sitting in front of me, wrists bound together but resting in front of him as if he wanted them there anyways.

His grey-blue eyes widen a fraction of a centimetre when he sees me, the only indication my presence surprises him. His expression remains blank, the sharp lines of his nose and jaw unmoving as his gaze shifts behind me, waiting, maybe hoping, for someone to accompany me inside the interrogation room.

I close the door.

Scorpius gives no indication that he even knows me as I take the seat across from him, angling it away from the wall where they are watching us: Aurors Bones and Tyson, Lori Grayson, Albus, and Uncle Harry.

Scorpius knows Bones and Tyson better than I, and I can only imagine what it is like to have the Aurors in charge of your training overseeing your arrest and interrogation. Not only them, but your training partner and Head of your department as well. I don't even know if Scorpius knows that Lori Grayson is overseeing the entire investigation. Uncle Harry would have if he weren't personally involved in this case, and next in line would be the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, who also happens to be my mum. The Ministry had to climb all the way to the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and she takes her job very seriously.

I hope the flush that I feel crawling across my cheeks doesn't reach my ears. It took a lot of convincing to get me here today, but if my emotions get the best of me, I'll lose this chance to finally find the truth.

But being so close to him, the truth seems so unimportant. Only yesterday I kissed him, held him, slept in his bed. Today, he's arrested for the murder of my cousin.

~OoOoO~

I remember the first time I met Scorpius Malfoy.

Dad had just told me to never be friends with him and beat him in every exam. I think I despised him before I ever even saw him. So when he arrived at our compartment and Albus invited him in, shocked was the mildest word for what I was feeling.

I refused to talk to him the entire train ride, having made friends with two other first years who had asked to share our compartment as well. Isabel Krew and Samuel Wood, both children of famous Quidditch players, were much better company and would prove to be fine friends over the following years.

By the Sorting Ceremony, I'd forgotten that Scorpius had ridden with us at all until James caught my attention and gave a questioning look to him and Albus standing next to each other. All I could offer was a shrug, thinking I would have time to explain the whole situation after being put into Gryffindor.

The Sorting Hat messed that up, though, along with every other idea I had of what Hogwarts would be like. The one-sided conversation was going according to plan until the Hat paused to think.

"I see, yes, a very loyal and brave heart… and a willingness to work and an honest nature. Never told a lie, I see?"

I wanted to argue, but that would have been a lie.

I ended up in Hufflepuff with Molly, which lacked some surprise since it followed Scorpius being Sorted into Ravenclaw and, a few names after, Albus into Slytherin. There were lasting rumours that the Hat was losing its touch and needed to retire.

Albus made many attempts to bring Scorpius and me to better terms throughout our first few months at Hogwarts, but by the second Quidditch game, Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw, Albus gave up. He left in the middle of the game, unable to stand our bickering anymore.

The most infuriating thing about Scorpius Malfoy, and there are many, is his unwavering composure. The more he recited past game statistics for the players on both sides, the more red my face became. The odds were so far against me that I would have dropped the topic and moved on to something more in my favour had he been anyone else, but Scorpius's words felt like a hook that dragged out a frustration and a need to prove myself that I had never felt before.

See, in my family, there aren't a lot of logical thinkers, especially on the Potter side. Ask any of them and you'll get a variation of "What does your gut/heart/conscience tell you?" Then all of them, especially Dad, would tell me how I rely too much on facts. Having them used against me, and worse, being unable to fight back, made me discover a new part of myself. I found a deep competitiveness I never exercised because no one before had been able to compete with me.

Perhaps that makes me sound arrogant, but it's the truth. Even my Ravenclaw cousins, Victoire and Fred, compliment my knowledge and creativity. Even bespectacled, nose-in-a-book Lucy admitted I could beat her number of O.W.L.s when the time came. Having Scorpius Malfoy best me sparked a dangerous fire.

"D'you see what you did?" I spat at him after Albus had walked away at the Quidditch game.

"I don't think the fault is all mine," he said, which only infuriated me more because he was right and I couldn't argue.

"Can't you at least _try_ to be nice?"

"Can you?"

I restrained myself from hitting or hexing him even though I wanted to do both, multiple times, and instead glared at him as a spiteful storm of words whirled inside my mind and thundered out. "You're such a typical Malfoy! I don't know why the Sorting Hat tried to give you a chance in Ravenclaw."

I spun around with enough momentum to slap him across the face with the ends of my red curls, slipping into the crowd.

After that disaster, Albus spent his time keeping Scorpius and me apart. At meals, Albus had given up on dragging Scorpius to our table, where a slew of Houses sat. I've heard that, during my parents' time, the students respected the formality of sitting at their own House tables, but after a handful of students broke the unspoken rule, most notably Teddy when he sat next to Victoire at the Ravenclaw table, all the students started to mix together from then on. During my first year, the Slytherins still congregated together, but with Albus and Isabel in their ranks, they were soon with the rest of us.

Albus started to switch his meals between Scorpius and me, sitting next to me one day and with Scorpius the next. He split not only meals but trips on the train, Quidditch games, even Hogsmeade weekends after second year. I didn't have him every other day, as I would have done to keep it fair. Instead, he seemed to choose whichever one of us he felt less bothered by that day.

I hardly ever minded. By then, I had such a wide network of friends, I never wanted for company. I did make note of Scorpius's friends, mostly because none of them befriended me, but what I noticed most? That Jasper Zabini, Scorpius's cousin, and Caroline Nott were not among his friends. It almost made me hate Scorpius more that I couldn't bunch him with the rest of the blood purists.

For the next four years, despite never talking directly to him, he remained a spot in my life. When final exams were over, I listened to enough hearsay to discover he had beaten me as top of the class, an honour I hadn't even thought to fight for. I'd only gotten an E in History of Magic because, really, who paid attention to Binns? Well, after my first year, I never missed another word that ghost said.

Going into third year, I was proud to say Scorpius and I were tied as far as marks were concerned, but then I made the mistake of trying out for the Quidditch team. I never even thought to worry about making it. I'd been trained by my best cousins: Dominique, Molly, James, and Roxanne.

I only made reserve.

And Scorpius? Oh, of course he made his House team. As Seeker. Bloody brilliant.

The next year, I was made Keeper, but by then, all the resentment I felt towards Scorpius while watching him soar around the pitch from the sidelines and hoping Owen Weaver got a Bludger to the head so I could play, had built up from a mild spark to a smouldering flame of hatred.

When I received my Prefect badge, I felt that I might have finally won the competition and achieved something Scorpius had not, until a few days later when Albus warned me that Scorpius had also been made a Prefect. I cursed, knowing that meant I would see him at meetings and, to make matters worse, have to patrol with him.

I planned on asking Louis, the Head Boy that year, to keep us as far away from each other as possible. Instead, Albus trapped us in the same compartment on the train.

"This is the worst idea you've ever had," I told him after taking the window seat and scrunching myself as close to the wall as I could get. "Can I please leave?"

Albus glared at me from his seat next to the door, playing guard. "No."

"C'mon, Al, I promise you anything if you let me go." I batted my eyelashes at him, but he didn't waver. I went in for the kill. "I'll put in a good word about you to Cassie."

Albus's green eyes lit up at the name, and for a moment, I had him. Cassie McLaggen, my closest Gryffindor friend, had caught the eye of my cousin back in second year, and he'd been pining after her ever since. While she held a liking for Quidditch players, she also seemed to only fancy those in her own House. I could change her mind.

"No, Rose," Albus said, shaking his head. "You are not leaving."

I wanted to scream, but I settled on groaning as loudly and obnoxiously as I could, throwing my head back against the seat. "Can't I just tell you how this is going to end? No matter how many hours we sit here, Scorpius and I are _never_ going to be friends."

Scorpius sat between us on the opposite bench, a stoic expression on his face as he watched the two of us argue. The left side of his mouth pulled up in a grin but the right was slightly down-turned in a frown. I would later learn it was the most uncomfortable expression Scorpius ever wore.

The thing about Scorpius Malfoy is that he's harder to read than anyone I've ever met. He mastered the art of detached indifference when he was young, or so he told me once. It's a habit he picked up from his parents, even without them encouraging it. I imagined his family like one of the old portraits, all the occupants raising an eyebrow at their watchers' antics while remaining unimpressed themselves.

Albus and I, however, tended to be open with our emotions. I glared at him. He glared at me. Neither of us wanted to look away first.

But where I was stubborn, Albus was compromising.

He sighed as he dropped his gaze. "Look, I am not asking you to be best mates. All I ask is that you be cordial in each other's presence."

"We're cordial!" I shot back, standing up.

Albus mirrored me. "Cordial is not shouting."

Scorpius cleared his throat from his seat. "I don't believe I've partaken in any shouting. May I go?"

"No," Albus and I yelled in unison. Scorpius pursed his lips in response.

The interruption was enough to calm both of us down and sit again, though I glued my gaze out the window. Albus attempted to make conversation, all of it revolving around various Quidditch cups: The Montrose Magpies winning the European Cup but losing the League Cup to Puddlemere United, the upcoming World Cup that would happen next summer, Ravenclaw stealing the cup from Gryffindor after their best season in a decade at the end of the previous year. But Scorpius kept his comments short and uninviting. I refused to speak at all. Albus quickly gave up and fell silent.

After a few minutes, Scorpius stood, announcing he had patrol duty next and left the compartment. My gaze followed him out, then rested on Albus. "Did you really think that would work?" I asked.

"I hoped," he said, settling into a more comfortable position in his seat. "I did think it might be nice to have a year where my two best mates got along."

Oh, the guilt tactic. Albus knew just where to strike. I thought about telling him that it was a miracle a Malfoy was friends with a Potter and that he shouldn't push his luck trying to add a Weasley to the mix, but I knew he'd argue that Potters were known for fate working in their favour.

"I don't make promises I can't keep," I warned him, but he smiled, knowing what I meant. I would make no promises, but I would try not to yell at Scorpius as much.

I didn't have to see Scorpius again the rest of the train ride, having patrol duty after him then escaping Albus's attention as he went to his own patrol duty. Really, I didn't see much of Scorpius for nearly two months. Louis did a fantastic job giving us differing duties until Scorpius messed it up and switched midnight patrols with Cassie so she could attend the Hufflepuff Halloween party without interruption.

No one really knows how the Halloween celebration became the legend it was when I was in school. I think it started with someone just wanting to have a party before the first Quidditch match of the year. The Slytherins and Gryffindors would be too busy with practices to plan one, and Ravenclaws aren't really known for their fun-loving nature. All responsibilities fell to us Hufflepuffs, and the first one must have gone well because there'd been one ever since.

Now, on most occasions, I'm a well-organized person and never forget anything - I make lists for a reason - but there are times when I try to avoid a task so avidly that I procrastinate writing it down until the very last moment.

And then there are even rarer times when that task never makes it to parchment, like the time I forgot about my midnight patrol on Halloween night with Scorpius Malfoy.

By the time midnight came around, I was flitting from group to group, taking sips from others' drinks as I went. I'd grown tired and light-headed enough to plop myself on the armrest of Albus's chair to watch Sam Wood and Troy Spinnet play Exploding Snap, though with their slowed reflexes, there was a lot more exploding than snapping. I flung my head back in a laugh when all the cards in Troy's hand combusted at once, patrol the farthest thing from my mind.

Until a pair of long fingers tapped my shoulder.

I whirled around, feeling the end of my hair whip across the person behind me, and came face-to-face with Scorpius Malfoy. Well, face-to-face would be a generous statement on my part. It was more face-to-chest since all the height in my family skipped over me and he'd gained every inch of his parents' heights. It was one of many annoying characteristics about him.

"What're you doing here?" I said.

"I came to find you," he said. "We have patrol tonight."

I cursed under my breath at the same time Troy and Sam broke into fits of laughter.

"Skiving off your Prefect-ly duties already?" Sam teased.

"You can scratch Head Girl off your to-do list now," Troy added between chortles.

At the same time, Albus and I tossed a couple of Stinging Hexes their way to shut them up, giving each other admiring looks as Sam ducked behind his hand of cards and Troy fell over the back of his chair.

"Guess I better be off then," I said, bumping shoulders with Albus before standing and ushering for Scorpius to lead the way out. With his back turned, he couldn't see that I stayed a few paces behind him, dodging glances and hoping no one would see me leaving with him. There were enough rumours about me at the time, and I didn't want to add any more.

"Oi, Rosie!"

I cringed at the sound of the person whose name was next to mine in the most prominent gossip. I looked over to see Ashton Peakes walking towards me, though I'm not sure I'd call what he was doing walking. He was tall and burly and used those around him like a railing as his tipsy steps caused him to sway.

Some things to know about Ashton? At this time, he was a seventh year Hufflepuff and Captain of the Quidditch team. He's also the only person besides my family that calls me "Rosie." Oh, and in my fourth year, there had been a rumour that I only made the Quidditch team because he fancied me.

I tried not to take offence against my flying skills.

"There's m'favourite Qui'itch star!" he slurred, stumbling to a stop in front of me. I leant a hand in steadying him before he toppled over on a lot of second years. "Nah leaving without saying goodbye, are ya?" he asked, putting an arm over my shoulders for balance. It really was no wonder why his girlfriend despised me.

"I'll be back," I told him, attempting to steer him in the direction of a good babysitter. "Before you get too pissed to make memories, I promise."

"Oh, I shee, sneaking out for a quick shag, eh? With… that's nah Malfoy, is it?"

I gave him a withering look. "You're disgusting, and no. I'm on midnight patrol."

"Pfft, prefect stuff. Come an' have a drink."

"I'm going," I said, setting him off in the direction of some sixth and seventh years that included Roxanne, knowing they'd take of him till I got back. "Goodbye." He waved as he staggered towards the group.

When I turned around, Scorpius stood less than a meter away, a slight quirk of his left eyebrow and a wrinkle at the right corner of his mouth. I stabbed a finger at his chest, taking the expression as smug. "There is nothing to those rumours, so don't look at me like there is." I grabbed a handful of his shirt, an uncomfortable formal looking thing for the weekend, and yanked him out of the room.

I headed straight up the staircase to the Entrance Hall, hoping to keep ahead of Scorpius, but he kept pace with his long strides. I shot glares at him. Having him stay beside me so easily while I worked up a sweat was about as frustrating as working for top class and only making second or training all summer and not making the team while Scorpius just walked onto the field and made Seeker.

I said nothing as we walked through the corridors, not having anything to say to him, but the quiet was killing me. Every thought in my mind begged to come out of my mouth, and I pressed my lips together so hard they hurt. I could only take it so long before I started rambling.

"I feel like I have to explain the whole Ashton situation since it seems most everyone here wants to write me off as a slag." Scorpius gave no indication that he wanted me to continue, but I did anyways. "See, in third year when I was made reserve, Ashton took a liking to me. He wasn't even Captain then, but I think he wanted me to make the team. We would go down to the Pitch any chance we got, and he helped me."

Scorpius was silent, and I thought for a moment that he wouldn't say anything. Then he asked, "How does a Chaser train a Keeper?"

"He actually taught me to be a better Chaser. Something about 'knowing your opponent' and such. I dunno why it worked, but it did. And I probably shouldn't have told you that," I said, glancing at him in hopes for some kind of promise that he wouldn't pass that on to his own Quidditch team. His face was blank, unreadable to me at the time, so I kept going. "Anyways, I guess more people noticed our disappearances than I thought, because when I made the team last year, everyone assumed it was because we were dating. When it became obvious we weren't, the gossip got a lot nastier. Which is absolute rubbish. I spent years training, and that accomplishment got dwindled down to snogging. Not to mention that it completely ruined my dating life."

"I doubt it was only the rumour that did that."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you calling me undateable?"

"Not at all." Again, with the calm responses while I flared up. "But you are quite the legend around Hogwarts. I imagine you intimidate most."

I blinked at him, hearing the words but unable to connect words like "legend" and "intimidating" to me. I was a short little thing with a too high-pitched voice and an emotional range that made me useless in a situation requiring a cool demeanour. Who the hell would be scared of me?

Scorpius understood my silence meant confusion and carried on. "You are one of the greatest Keepers at Hogwarts. You only let in two goals last year and are guaranteed to be Captain next year. You were made a Prefect, and everyone knows the Head Girl position is yours. And you have incredibly high marks in all your classes. I would not be surprised if you made top of our class."

I scoffed at the last one. "That'd be a bloody miracle. Unless, of course, you're dropping out."

"I was not planning on that," he said, seemingly genuinely confused at the statement. "But I do think after O.W.L.'s, you could surpass me."

"Why's that?"

"I expect to have a rather heavy load of N.E.W.T. courses."

"And you don't think I will?" I hadn't been planning on it, but I would've signed up for every N.E.W.T.-level lesson possible if it meant having more than him.

"I have no idea. What career are you striving for?"

"Career?" I scoffed. "Well, I guess I should know that by now… I dunno." The whole concept of a future and job seemed so far away until that point. "How do you decide what you want to do forever anyway?"

"I suppose one figures out what makes them truly happy."

He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and maybe for other people, it was. I, however, never thought much about what made me happy. "Well, there's lots of things that make me happy," I mused. "I enjoy all of my lessons and flying, of course. Being with friends, being with family, reading a good book. I don't do much in my life that doesn't make me happy."

"Which is most likely because you live off the happiness of others." I stumbled in my surprise at his words, shooting him a look of shock that he must have mistook for malice because he added, "Just an observation."

His haughty tone ignited that fire of anger in me. "If you think you're telling me something I don't know about myself then you're wrong." I quickened my pace for a second or two before coming down from my rush of anger. As my steps slowed, my voice softened. "I've always had a lot of attention drawn to me, whether I did something to deserve it or not. There was a Daily Prophet article written about me on the day I was _born_. My entire family has certain expectations of me: brightest witch of my age, Head Girl, Quidditch captain. Everything. And when I meet those expectations, yes, there's nothing that makes me happier. And I've known that for a while," I added quickly, not wanting him to think he helped me discover some new part of myself.

"But," I continued, "making your family proud isn't exactly a job."

We walked together for a quiet minute, our footsteps no longer competing against each other but settling into a matching rhythm. I started to roam my mind for a new topic of conversation when Scorpius said, "So what would you do if no one would ever see or hear about it? There must be some activity that would bring you happiness by simply doing it."

Yes, there must be, but what was it? It was a tougher question than on any exam. I barely knew who I was, living for what everyone told me they enjoyed. The school work and revising were for the marks that would bring proud smiles to my parents' faces. Quidditch was for the cheers. I couldn't imagine playing a game that my friends would never hear about. Even during my private lessons with Ashton, I'd flown to hear him say, "Curse it all, you're amazing."

"I don't know," I finally answered. "That may be the strangest and maddest thing you've ever heard, but honestly, I don't know what would genuinely make me happy."

"I think not knowing is normal, if a little sad."

"Thanks for the honesty," I grumbled as we ascended a staircase to the second floor, but on my last word, the staircase lurched to the right. I slammed into the bannister while Scorpius nearly crashed into me, coming up short only because of the length of his arms, which were able to reach around me and brace against the railing. Our close proximity was gone as soon as we were steadied, which was quick considering we'd been battling these stairs for over four years, but I felt something new swirling around in my chest when my nose brushed against the collar of his button-down, something stirring where my fire of hatred had once lived.

My mind flashed to our conversation, feeling like I'd been talking to an old friend rather than to Scorpius Malfoy. I had no words to describe the closeness I felt towards him, and not the brief physical closeness we had shared. It felt as if the fire of hate had smouldered to embers, the smoke drifting out of my ribs and floating to him, connecting us.

That description may seem a little intense for the moment, so emphasis on the "smoke" part.

Whatever it was, it drew words out of me. "I mean it, though. Thanks for being honest."

"Can I say one more honest thing?" he asked as we left the stairs behind. "Being honest is not normally a character trait of mine."

"Maybe I'm rubbing off on you," I teased, trying to lighten the mood before I darkened it again. "Or at least enough to get one more honest answer from you?"

He inclined his head, though it seemed more a sign of curiosity than affirmation. I went for it anyway. "It was me this whole time, wasn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the whole fighting and competing thing between us. It started because my family expected it to happen, and we already discussed me and my family's expectations." I stopped our patrol to look him in the eye when I asked, "You never had an issue with me, did you?"

"No, I never did."

"Right," I said, ducking my gaze away from his. "Okay, yeah, I guess I'll go down this way and you go down that way. Make this patrol go a bit faster?"

He nodded, glancing from me to the corridor I suggested, then started down the corridor alone. He glanced back. "I apologise if I said something to upset you."

"Upset me?" I cursed myself for making it sound like I wanted away from him, but I smiled anyways, feeling strangely happy that I had enough of a hold on him to make him care about my emotional wellbeing. "You just gave me a lot to think about."

"Well, you know how us Ravenclaws can be."

"Did you just make a joke?" I asked in disbelief, looking up to see a small but definite crooked smirk on his face, giving him just the glimpse of smugness that my parents always warned me ran in the Malfoy family.

"I can be funny on occasion." The crookedness of his mouth straightened into a genuine smile for just a second. This would be the first moment I saw the way his right eye crinkled when the right side of his mouth lifted, the reason he always smiled with only one side of his lips, but I did not know yet how few people had seen it or how familiar it would become over the years.

No, at that moment, all I could focus on was his retreating form, noticing for the first time that he walked with his hands in his pockets and in the exact centre of the corridor.

When I started walking in the opposite direction, I felt an ache in my cheeks that took me a while to figure out meant I was smiling wider than I had in ages. I even felt my mouth to make sure it was really there, then forced it away as fast as I could.

~OoOoO~

What to say in this situation? I was never good with words, I never had to be, but it's clear Scorpius is waiting for me to make the first move in this delicate game. This calls for strategy, a talent I lack. I charge head first into things and figure it out as I go. I want to blurt out, "Please, Scorpius, tell me the truth. Did you kill her?"

But that won't do any good. According to my Uncle Harry, Scorpius hasn't said a word since he was arrested. I'm the last resort and, five minutes in, I'm failing miserably.

I glance towards the door, expecting it to open at any moment to either Ms Grayson finding this meeting too inappropriate to continue or Auror Tyson saying this is a waste of time. They've already said both, but Uncle Harry and Auror Bones insisted that if they wanted to find out how deep this case went, they needed to use every advantage they had to get Scorpius to talk.

And if I fail? Scorpius will be sent to Azkaban for life and, if any of his hints these past few years mean what I think, my entire family could be killed, including me. Especially me.

See, I was the one who was supposed to be in Diagon Alley that day, not Molly. No one besides the two of us knows that, and I will not tell anyone else because there's something they wouldn't understand: if it weren't for Scorpius, I would have been there. I would be dead.

I have to make him say the right things, the whole truth, because I know he's innocent. He has to be. Failing is not an option.

"D'you know why I'm here?" I ask, hoping to sound authoritative and confident but coming out desperate instead.

I stare at him, keeping our eyes locked, hoping I can bring out that honesty that he claims to only have with me. He's never lied to me, not even a white lie, not a single untruth. But to get him to be honest, I have to get him to speak first. My blue eyes are pleading, begging, screaming at him to answer me. Please, answer me.

His face is unmoving but his stormy eyes never stay still. They stray from my gaze for a moment before gravitating back. Neither of us blinks. We are still but a battle is happening, not only between our eyes but between that connection in our chests that formed on that staircase so many years ago. It's been broken quite a few times, but here we are again, mending it.

I feel the exact moment it returns to steel.

"Yes."

* * *

 **End Note:** Please let me know your thoughts! This story has been in my head for a very, very long time and finally getting to write it and bring it to you guys is such a relief. I hope that you enjoy reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 _i want to hear how your heart sings_

 _._

"Yes."

Such a short simple word, but right now, it's the world. I start to smile but can't seem to lift my lips all the way, my mouth trembling. Tears drip from my eyes and blot the thick material of my shirt. So much for keeping my emotions under control.

I scrunch my eyes shut to squeeze out the remaining tears and sniffle back the need to let loose the waterfall in my head. I can do this. I just have to toughen up.

"You haven't told them anything?" I ask.

His jaw trembles as if struggling to form words. "Nothing."

"And the Aurors checked for any tempering? No charms, potions, jinxes… blackmail? Threats?"

His eyebrows twitch upwards, and I know I've hit somewhere close to the truth. His parents must still be in danger. Maybe that's why he's been keeping quiet.

"Please, Scorpius, a name, a place - _anything_. They can help," I insist.

"I know." His voice is desperate. Torn. His eyes drop away from mine and bore into the table.

He thinks he's doing the right thing. He always thinks he's doing the right thing, but how can lying ever be right?

Well, if asking outright won't uncover the truth, it's time I switch tactics.

I shift in my seat so my back is no longer to the magicked wall, glancing towards it in an effort to catch someone's eye. Hopefully not Tyson or Grayson. I look back at Scorpius, hoping to see his face one more time before I betray his trust and he never looks at me the same again, but he keeps his head ducked away from my gaze.

If I had any other choice, I wouldn't do this. "If you won't say anything, then I guess I'll have to tell them everything that I know."

~OoOoO~

After our midnight patrol, everything changed between Scorpius and me.

I returned to the party sober and somber, preoccupied with finding an answer to Scorpius's question. _What made me happy?_ I stopped Albus from making a fool of himself and confessing his love to Cassie. _Could I see myself at the Ministry?_ I played a game of chess against Lucy and lost more horribly than usual. _Was I good enough to play Quidditch professionally?_ I stole the Marauder's Map from James to direct non-Hufflepuffs out of the common room unnoticed. _Did I want to teach?_ I helped the House Elves clean up after everyone went to bed or passed out on the furniture. _What would I teach if I wanted to?_ I sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, too wired to sleep.

Why did none of those options sound promising?

By the time I wandered to bed, I'd given myself a headache.

I tried to go about my week like normal, but whenever Scorpius and I were in the same room, I found my attention drawn to him. I suppose I always held a small interest in him, an obsession born from competition, but my scrutiny was different now. I wanted to know more than his study habits and his flying strategies; I wanted to know what made him laugh, what made him cringe, what made him have any expression at all.

As days passed, I realised how rude and arrogant I must have seemed to him. I never properly thanked him for saving my sorry arse that night instead of leaving me to the wrath of Louis, and I never asked him what he had decided on for a career. We'd only talked about me and my problems that night, and that realisation manifested into guilt.

So as afternoon classes began after lunch on Thursday, I drifted through the crowd of students exiting the Great Hall to walk beside Scorpius. The only person who seemed to notice was Isa, who always had an eye for that sort of thing. I ignored her pointed look as we headed towards the dungeons, hoping no one else would see us together.

I didn't know then why I was so sensitive to people seeing us walking together. It was entirely platonic and should have been normal. I had a lot of male friends, I should've known how to go about it, but I felt myself looking over my shoulder, ready to be caught by James or Cassie or Ashton. I should've figured it out by then that it meant I fancied Scorpius.

"I wanted to thank you for Saturday," I said and forced myself to look up at him in order for my voice to carry over the crowd. "Missing that patrol would've been a spot on my record I could never vanish."

"I thought it would help with the 'being friends' campaign," he said. I thought he might be joking, but he didn't show any sign of humour.

Hearing him talk about our conversation as if it were just an act to get Albus off our backs jerked away the pleasantness I felt for that night. "Oh, right."

"I think Albus is on to something, though," Scorpius said. I glanced up to see him gazing down at me, and although he didn't smile or show any sign of his words having more meaning to the words than as they were, I felt that I could read in his eyes what he didn't say: we made good company.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking.

"Well, I realised I never said thanks, so thanks," I said, turning my eyes back towards the steps so I wouldn't fall down and make the moment any more awkward. "And… uh, I never asked what your career plans are… so… what are you going to be when you grow up?"

The question brought a pained expression to his face that I don't think had anything to do with my corniness.

"I would rather not say in such a public space," he said, his eyes flitting around the corridor as much as mine were.

"What? You want to be a DeathEater?" I said jokingly before I caught his stricken expression. I laughed in triumph and continued to chip away at his composure. "All right, that was insensitive, but really? What's so horrible that you don't want anyone to know?"

"Fortunately for you, I am not a sensitive person," he said, his voice still low and hesitant but he wore an expression of mild amusement for a moment. Before he continued, he returned it to one of seriousness. "My chances of obtaining a job are low."

"Right, because I forgot you're top of our class and son of a rather famous apothecarist and business woman. You've got as low a chance of finding a job as me." I couldn't be sure that he understood my sarcasm judging from his serious expression, but I hoped the sideways look I gave him helped.

He ignored me as we walked down the steps to the dungeons, alone now that we had separated from the masses and lost the rest of the fifth years lagging in their walk to Potions. Once we made it to the bottom of the staircase, I gave up on waiting for him to answer, but he sighed with more emotion than I'd ever heard from him before. He glanced behind us again before taking a step closer and ducking down so he could speak softly. I tried not to be too distracted by his shoulder brushing mine. "This particular job is headed by an administration that may hold some prejudice against me."

"Prejudice?" I questioned. "For what? For being Pureblood? For being a Malfoy? The only people who'd hold that against you are the few people who went to school with our parents and, well, my family, but…" I stopped as it made sense. Scorpius walked ahead a few paces before turning around to look at me as I said, "You want to be an Auror, don't you?"

He blinked at me, craned his neck to see if anyone was close enough to hear, then said, "I would appreciate your discretion."

I had no idea how to process that information. Scorpius Malfoy wanted to be an Auror. He wanted to work under the department that my Uncle Harry headed, the department Molly was training for, the department my own father had been a part of when he was younger. I didn't realize I'd frozen with my mouth hanging open until Scorpius nodded towards the corridor, urging me to start walking again. "I can keep a secret," I promised as coolly as I could as I caught back up with him.

"Thank you," he said, continuing our trek to the Potions classroom as if the exchange hadn't left me bursting with questions. I figured he wouldn't want to be interrogated in any circumstance, let alone when any Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff in our year would be able to overhear us in just a few minutes, but my struggle to stay quiet must have shown on my face because he said, "You have things you want to say."

"Oh, I have so many things to say - and ask," I added, not wanting to come off too strong.

"Perhaps we can discuss it sometime over revising," Scorpius suggested, stopping short of the classroom door to face me again. "At your convenience, of course."

"I always make time for interesting conversations," I said, not wanting to miss out on this opportunity.

His right eye crinkled in what someone else may have interpreted as a twitch or a wink but what I saw as a smile. "Tonight, at the library, after dinner?"

"All right."

I will forever consider that as the one and only time Scorpius ever asked me out. After meeting in the library that night, we simply just fell together. I guess that wouldn't come as a surprise to anyone outside of our story, but for the two us, it was shocking. We brought plenty of books and essays to keep us occupied, but conversation distracted us until Madame Midgen ushered us into the corridor fifteen minutes before curfew. We hadn't even discussed Scorpius's yearning to be an Auror, and it took several more minutes for me to drag a clear answer from him.

"You must have some sort of reason figured out," I said, blocking his way to the stairs so he couldn't escape to Ravenclaw tower without telling me.

He pursed his lips as if considering which spell would best move me out of the way, but then decided against it. "I always wanted to be an Auror, even before I knew everything that happened between my father and your uncle. I set my heart on that path early on after reading about them in novels."

"Like Jackson Doyle?" I asked, unable to hide my hope that he knew about my childhood hero from my favourite book series.

"Exactly."

"So it has nothing to do with poetic justice or anything?" I teased.

"No."

I took a moment to take that in. I'd been preparing for a grand speech about how he wanted to redeem his family's name and show my uncle that Malfoys could do as many great things as a Potter could, but his simple admission caught me off guard.

"Somehow that makes it even more just."

"Just?" he questioned.

"You know what I mean. Putting the past and the present into balance or whatever. It's an honourable reason."

"Honourable?"

The left side of his mouth twitched up into a small smirk, and even though I knew he was teasing me, I tried to explain myself. "Yes, because it's a very… ambitious goal."

"Ah, ambitious. I think you have managed to Sort me into every House except my own."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a wise decision."

He breathed out a laugh, but there was very little humour in it. "Not a wise decision," he repeated.

I didn't like the defeated look on his face, especially since I felt that I'd put it there, so I jumped to another topic. "I figured out what… what I'd like to do - for a career, I mean." I almost said "what would make me happy," but it hit me then that there were more than just jobs that would make me happy and I wasn't yet ready to have that conversation.

His eyes focused on me again, so I went on. "I thought about it all week. Actually, I started thinking about if I'd want to teach, and the only subject that seemed bearable was Care of Magical Creatures. It took about two more seconds for me to dismiss teaching, but something with magical creatures sounds right. It's not a career, exactly, but it's a start, right?"

"A fine start," he said with a slight crinkle in his right eye.

It took me too long to tell him good night and retreat down the staircase, which I stumbled on, as he ascended the steps. I tried wrapping my mind around the fact that I'd spent all evening with Scorpius Malfoy, talked to him for hours, and still didn't want to say goodbye. Hadn't I hated him just a week ago?

Albus bragged for a fortnight, reminding us that we could have been friends years ago if we'd just listened to him. I let him gloat for a bit, but then I started shutting him up with Stinging Hexes.

Everyone else in our year noticed our friendship after a day and shared all their opinions. Isa swore she saw it coming since our first year while Sam and Troy took bets on how long it would take for one of us to kill the other. Cassie already had our wedding planned while Marie Creevey thought about all the stories that might pop up in Rita Skeeter's gossip magazine. I ignored most of the comments, especially those made by Ashton when he took me aside after practice to remind me that relationships could be detrimental to a player's concentration. I reassured him that Scorpius and I were only friends, and just tentative friends at that.

If only I'd known how huge of a lie that had been.

I don't know if I can pinpoint the exact moment our friendship switched into something more - honestly, it might have begun during our midnight patrol - but I can say when we stopped denying the rumours and accepted that we should just start dating already.

It was during the holiday season, the fourth of December, and all the Prefects were forced to give up their Saturday to decorate the whole of Hogwarts for Christmas. The fifth years grumbled enough about their heavy workload to be given the same easy task of tackling the corridors as the seventh years, which meant we weren't given much instruction and could leave when we saw fit. We divided the floors amongst ourselves, heading out in groups of twos or threes. As per the new normal, I ended up with Albus and Scorpius.

We got stuck with the third floor and approached the trophy room with caution. Peeves often hung around the room, waiting for unsuspecting students to wander in and gaze at the awards on the shelves until a water balloon fell on their heads. Even after confirming the room was empty, we worked quietly and quickly to hang garland from the shelves. The poltergeist could pop out of a trophy at any moment, waiting for the opportune moment to take us by surprise, but he must have been busy torturing other Prefects because he never showed up.

After the anxiety of the trophy room, placing Father Christmas hats on suits of armor and hanging holly above the double doors of the Hospital Wing were nothing. The most difficult process was convincing a few of the more stubborn suits of armor to keep their hats on. Our box seemingly like endless decorations quickly emptied, and Albus volunteered to take them to the storage room on the fifth floor.

At this point, it had been a while since Scorpius and I had been alone. We were Albus's best friends, so the chances of him being around were always high. Mix that with our lessons being crammed full as the professors squeezed in everything we needed to know for our O.W.L.'s and the increased Quidditch practices to prep for our game against each other (which, for the record, had been the longest game I would ever play and ended with a shocking tie as Ashton scored the final goal at the same time Scorpius snatched the Snitch from under Karen Brady's nose), we hadn't spent a decent amount of time alone together since our night at the library.

Conversation did not come as easily as it had that night at the library, making the short walk to the staircase that would separate us seem like it was kilometers long. I thought back to the topics we'd enjoyed together before, but after the short month of getting to know each other, we seemed to already know everything there was to know. I almost made a comment about the weather.

Luckily, I was saved the embarrassment by a vine shooting out from the top of the archway we were walking under and wrapping around my right arm.

"What the bloody hell?" I yelled as I was yanked backwards under the arch again. I looked up to see the vine attached to a cluster of leaves and little white flowers at the top of the arch. There was also another vine, exactly like the one attached to me, that had wound itself around Scorpius's arm.

He already had his wand in hand, an obnoxiously elegant thing that was as long and thin as mine was short and bulky. "Let me see if I can do anything," he said before muttering spells up at the plant and shooting a multitude of different coloured lights into the leaves.

Meanwhile, I grabbed the vine around my arm and studied the leaves that extended down the vine for only a moment before I saw something that explained it all. "It's no use," I said as Scorpius used a cutting spell to split his vine in two. A second later, another vine shot out and wrapped around his wrist - wand and all - and pulled his entire arm into the air, totally useless.

"Blasted," Scorpius said quietly. "What is it?"

"It's one of my uncle's inventions," I said, showing him one of the leaves and opening it so he could see the embossed WWW logo.

"So how do we free ourselves?"

"Well, it's mistletoe," I said, a blush spreading across my face. "Er, Make-It-A-Snog Mistletoe, actually, a specially bred and enchanted product that my Uncle George was working on in the summer, so…"

"So?" Scorpius asked, as calm as ever.

"So the only way I know of getting out of here is to… kiss." I couldn't believe I was actually saying it, but I had never been the best at lying or avoiding questions. I kept on talking. "But between the two of us, I'm sure we can figure out some way out of this."

"We do have a simpler solution."

"We do," I agreed.

I would have thought he was joking if Scorpius were the joking type, thought his serious expression was rather comical with his arm hung awkwardly over his head. My cheeks were hot and prickling with an embarrassed blush. I couldn't help but glance at his lips.

I instantly lowered my gaze to the ground, unable to believe the situation we were in, but then Scorpius brushed his free hand against my cheek and drew my eyes upwards. His face was too close to look at anything nonspecific. I would not allow myself to settle my gaze on his eyes or his lips or anything else that would make it obvious how much I wanted this, so I watched the point of his nose as he loomed closer. I didn't know that I wanted this until that moment, but now I couldn't figure out if Scorpius felt similarly or if this kiss was really just the simplest solution for him.

And that was when I made the mistake of looking into his eyes.

I wish that I could remember more about that moment - it was our first kiss after all - but once I lost myself in those grey eyes, I remembered nothing else. I know that at some short point after that, his lips pressed into mine, but his eyes never closed and they were all I could focus on.

That second kiss, though, that one I remember clearly.

We separated for a moment, and I thought that was it. The vine slid from around my arm and slithered back up to its host plant. We were free. No more reason to kiss.

But then his hand slid down to cup the back of my neck and brought my mouth to his again. I thought, at first, that perhaps the vine around his arm hadn't yet released him until the clatter of his wand dropping to the floor informed me otherwise. He wasted no time threading his fingers into my plait.

I couldn't grab the front of his pristinely pressed jumper fast enough.

Kisses weren't exactly a rare thing in my life at that time, but I was ill-prepared for Scorpius's idea of a snog. I'd become used to quick and sloppy messes, but every one of Scorpius's slight movements were purposeful and brimming with the intent to make the moment as blissful as possible. My thoughts narrowed to each touch: one hand's slow descent from my neck to the small of my back; the subtle pressure of his fingers buried in my hair; the seamlessness of our lips as his tongue ran along my bottom lip to bring it into his mouth.

I'd later learn he read multiple books on the subject of snogging and relationships, which was not only a brilliant idea I later stole for myself - perhaps a bit too late - but also explained how the less experienced of the two of us managed to enthral the more experienced after just our first kiss.

My eyes drifted open as the tension melted and I relaxed my hands around his neck. The first things I noticed was his closed eyes, tight with either concentration or sheer will. Then I noticed a figure standing just meters down the corridor.

I attempted to ignore whoever it was at first, but once I knew someone was there, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I put a hand against Scorpius's face to draw him away, though he gave one more small peck before lifting his face away. His eyes slowly opened, a dull blue shining through the gray that I had never noticed before. I wondered if my eyes had the same sleepy droop to them. I felt tired but excited, not wanting to cut this discovery short. Without my knowing, my fingers were guiding him back to me.

Then the person in the corridor cleared their throat in the distinctive way only Albus could.

"Oi, you pervy wanker, are you watching?" I shouted over Scorpius's shoulder, completely shattering the, for lack of a better word, spell between us.

Albus sniggered in a way that reminded me exactly of Uncle Harry. "I didn't want to interrupt."

Scorpius and I both chuckled, though it was more like I outright laughed while Scorpius's shoulders bobbed a bit as he exhaled, but that was just how we were: controlled and uncontrollable, wild and proper, unknowingly loud and knowingly composed.

Albus strolled past us, mentioning lunch, and Scorpius and I caught up as if nothing extraordinary had happened. The only change was that Scorpius offered me his arm and I tucked my hand into the crook of his elbow for almost an entire second before I slid it across his arm and in his hand, threading my fingers between his.

And that was how the three of us entered an entire year and a half of blissfulness. We tried to keep the whole thing a secret for about a month, but by Albus's birthday at the end of January, everyone in our family, Hogwarts, and London seemed to know. Rita Skeeter even wrote a rather pleasant article about it that sounded a bit like someone had threatened her to not stir up any trouble with the story, though I can't say all of her following articles were as flattering.

The only ones who really had an issue with the two of us were James and Louis, but they were both in their seventh year, so we settled for dodging their glares and avoiding them at all costs.

Oh, and of course, Dad completely flipped.

"One thing, Rosie, one thing I ask you _not_ to do, and you run off to do it anyway!"

"For Merlin's sake, Dad, we've only been dating three weeks. We're not married. So technically, I haven't _run off_ and done anything yet."

"Yet? _Yet?_ What d'you mean 'yet'?"

Luckily, Mum was more accepting and even excited about the relationship. She wanted Scorpius over for dinner during Christmas holiday, but I managed to convince her to hold off the invitation till summer.

And that summer may have been the best I ever had. Besides Scorpius managing to win over my father through Quidditch and business talk, I managed to stumble through a tea with Scorpius's parents without offending anyone too terribly with my rusty etiquette, hand-made dress, and complete ignorance of anything to do with Pureblood politics.

During the rest of summer, I continued to make progress with his parents. Even thought I would never get used to the elaborately furnished gardens or too clean feel of Malfoy Manor, I learned to be comfortable there. Even though I only ever saw the drawing room for most of the summer, which my parents both had a fit about, I eventually was introduced to a few other rooms, including the basement where Mr Malfoy kept his alchemy lab as well as a plethora of glass cases containing dark artifacts. By parents weren't too pleased about that either.

Mrs Malfoy also had her own hobbies, which spread out from own studio and into the entire manor. Her artistic talent was spread across the walls in framed portraits and landscapes as well as murals. Inside her studio, that had so many windows that the space was as bright as Mr Malfoy's lab had been dark, half finished and blank canvas hung everywhere and sketchbooks were placed on every flat surface. Tucked away in one corner was a single mannequin, usually partially dressed and pouting at the lack of use. Even headless, that was obvious; it sat on a stool, arms crossed, and hunched over. I'd heard about coveted Astoria Malfoy robes and gowns, and it made sense why they were so rare. Mrs Malfoy spent little time designing for Twilfitt and Tattings.

By the end of August, it was normal for Scorpius and I to drop by for lunch and become distracted for hours as Mr Malfoy showed us his latest projects - which were as terrifying as they were beautiful - or for Mrs Malfoy to insist I sit for a portrait or to try on one of her latest designs. She even convinced me to allow her to design a set of dress robes for me, though I didn't mention that I would have almost nowhere to wear them.

And it wasn't only me who was getting along better with the parents. Scorpius stuck to his campaign to stay on Dad's good side and insisted we visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes at least as often as we visited his parents. He and my dad played Wizard chess too often for my liking, being the only person in my family that didn't enjoy the game, so I often found myself alone in the creature's section of the shop with the Pygmy Puffs, Crupbreeds, and Yapperknolls. I asked both of them what they talked about while I was gone, but they both changed the subject every time. I would have pushed for a better answer, but with those two, I would't have been surprised to find out they sat in silence for the whole hour.

And then there was the joy of taking Scorpius around Muggle London. Even though he had taken Muggle Studies for the past three years, his fascination with Muggle technology would have matched Grandpa Weasley's. I refused to walk into an electronics store with him again after he spent over an hour fiddling with the touchscreen cellphones and tablets.

The best parts of the summer, though, were when we snuck away from everyone else. Well, most of the sneaking involved me dragging Scorpius away. As much as he claimed to dislike sneaking off behind my family's backs, though, by the end of the summer, he willingly followed me, and willingly is as close to enthusiastic as Scorpius gets.

During the last week of August, I even convinced him to met me at the edge of my family's property, behind the barn and far away from prying eyes. At midnight, we were laying on the cool grass, covered only by a blanket enchanted to stay warm. Scorpius's unease with mixing nakedness and the outdoors had long since passed. He stared up at the clear night sky, his eyes taking in every star and constellation and whatever else was up there. I quickly forgot everything that Professor Timmons had taught us as soon as the O.W.L. exam finished. Scorpius, though, I knew could name almost every star in the sky.

"I should have known we'd end up together," I said, nudging my nose under his chin to draw him back from his thoughts.

His arm moved from its limp position draped over my shoulder and tightened to tuck me more securely into his side. "Why do you say that?"

I chuckled nervously, already regretting letting that flowery thought slip out. "Well, first of all, y'know, my dad told me not to. The best way to get your teenage daughter to do something is telling her not to do it."

Scorpius's right eye crinkled. "It worked for a few years, though."

"Eh, I was younger and less rebellious then."

"I can't disagree."

I smiled wider, burying my face closer to the side of his neck, not wanting to continue down this train of thought. But if I didn't get it out then, under the shadows of moonlight that hid my reddening face, Scorpius would bring up the subject some other time when I'd have to face him in the light of day. This was why thoughtful silences are bad for me: once my mind begins to wander, my mouth follows. "And… secondly…"

Scorpius turned his head to look down at me. "Go on."

"It's like… fate," I said, hearing my own words and unable to go on. Scorpius's eyebrow quirked in confusion. Exasperated, I motioned up, twice, before Scorpius turned his head to look at the sky again.

"The stars?" he asked. I nodded, biting my lip and wishing, for once in my life, to go back to the silence. All I had managed to do was confuse Scorpius and get myself flustered. Scorpius paused for a moment then said, "Are you referring to your star sign being Scorpio?"

" _Yes._ " I let out the breath I was holding, happy that I wouldn't have to say it. Scorpius kept his gaze on the stars, not seeming impressed. "C'mon, don't you find it at all ironic?"

"I suppose," he said.

I lifted myself up with a sigh, sitting with my knees bent up to my chest and the blanket scrunched around me. Scorpius sat up as well and traced a tentative finger along my shoulder blades. "Are you all right?"

"I just suck at this romantic shit," I said, yanking on a loose thread.

Scorpius's touch became more confident, and his entire palm pressed against my back while his fingers rubbed small circles into my skin. "You may not have the most eloquent words," he said, earning a sour look from me before he continued, "but you planned tonight."

"And tonight was romantic?" I asked, not believing Scorpius would ever think a midnight shag in the grass would be on the same level as a candlelit dinner.

The side of his mouth lifted into a smile. "Of course." A satisfied grin settled on my face as Scorpius leant to press a kiss on the edge of my shoulder. His breath brushed against my neck as he added, "Having someone lie to their parents to see you is always romantic."

I shoved an elbow into his chest. "I didn't lie to them."

An alarmed look past over Scorpius's face, both of his eyebrows lifting instead of just the one. "Then what _did_ you tell them?"

I held in my laugh, enjoying the fear in Scorpius's eyes for as long as I could. Once my smile broke through, my laugher carried out my words. "That I was going to spend the weekend with Molly and Dominique. And I will," I said when only one of his eyebrows lowered. "After this…"

"After this?" Scorpius shook his head, the bewildered look not quite leaving his face.

"What?" I asked.

"I cannot imagine having a cousin willing to do that."

I shrugged. "It's a bit easier when your cousins are living on their own."

"Still," Scorpius said, "I doubt my cousin would ever let me into his home under any circumstance. Perhaps if he were in a flat, he would let me sleep in the corridor outside his door."

I laughed, but Scorpius's face had gone back to the usual blank expression. I nudged my shoulder into his chest. "You can have any of my cousins whenever you like."

His eyes crinkled into an almost smile before they settled back into seriousness. "Rose," he said, "I have known about you being a Scorpio for awhile."

"Figured that," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"But no matter what your sign is, I would have fallen in love with you regardless," he continued, repositioning himself and bending his leg behind me so that my back was inches from his chest. Both his hands drifted up and down my back, tracing the nonsensical patterns of my freckles. "These are the only constellations I care about."

I lost myself in the moment for only a second before yanking myself away with an annoyed groan as I tossed my head back against his chest. "Do you see what I'm competing with?" I asked. "And you wonder why I have a complex about being romantic."

Scorpius smiled, a real dimpled-cheeks, eyes-squeezed-shut smile. "I apologise."

" _Sure_ ," I scoffed.

"It is simply a fact."

"Oh, well, another fact is that I… I would change my name to Virgo if that meant being with you." Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows trying to piece together the meaning of what I had said. I pursed my lips at him. "Look, I'm trying."

"I know," he said, his arms circling around me to bring me closer. He kissed the hair at my temple as I weaved my arms around his. "I appreciate the effort."

As long as that night seemed to last, the time came when I had to fly to Dominque and Molly's flat in London, nearly knocking into every tree and building that I passed. I slept in so late that the next day seemed to be half as short as normal. The rest of the week went by just as quickly. Summer ended in a flash, and I was once again at Hogwarts.

Scorpius and I settled into a routine relatively early into the school year. As the new captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, my free time was spread thin. Luckily, Scorpius had the same issue with his class load, taking nine N.E.W.T. level classes. Any free time we managed to squeeze in consisted of either studying or organising practices while we leant on each other out of mere exhaustion. I couldn't wait until summer came around again.

But when it came, I wanted nothing more than to go back.

~OoOoO~

"Rose," Scorpius says from across the table, but I refuse to give him my attention. I don't even know where to start to try to explain everything that he's told me and everything I've figured out, and any emotion on his face could silence me in an instant.

I keep reminding myself that this is for the best, that no harm can come to my family with the Ministry knowing and helping, but Scorpius asked me to keep it all a secret and as much as I hate to admit it, he's smarter than I am.

"I only know a few things," I begin before I'm interrupted by the door of the interrogation room flinging open as Lori Grayson marches in.

She slams a hand on the table in front of me, cutting off anything more that I might have said, then hisses to me, "Outside. Now. We need a talk before we go any further."

My heart, which was hammering in my chest before, feels like it has stopped, wilted, and drifted down to my stomach. With the way Grayson is glaring at me, I know I've done something wrong, and it's only with her gracious permission that I was allowed to be here in the first place. If I leave now, I don't know if she'll let me back.

"Please, wait-"

" _Now_ ," Grayson growls.

I look back over at Scorpius, and the slight knit in his eyebrows tells me he wants me gone about as much as I want to leave.

I stand from my seat, knowing protesting will not do anything to help my return. Grayson ushers me out the door where three familiar Aurors and one Auror-in-training are waiting. Albus gives me a tentative smile that gives me as much comfort as Auror Tyson's stern glare or Auror Bones's raised eyebrow that tells me I'm in the kind of trouble that amuses her. At least Uncle Harry looks like nothing is wrong, though he does look a bit exasperated.

As soon as the door closes, Grayson tears into me. "You had information on this case that you didn't think to share with any of us beforehand? Do you have any idea how high-profile this investigation is? Any information we can get is desperately needed-"

"I think she gets all that," Uncle Harry says, stepping between me and Grayson. "She is rather bright."

"No matter how intelligent the girl is, her loyalty to that criminal compromises everything she says."

"Scorpius is not a criminal," I say.

"Have you failed to notice that he is here for the murder of your cousin?" Grayson bites back.

"He didn't do it."

"You believe what you want to believe."

"I _know_ he didn't do it," I say, stepping in front of Grayson to face her.

Her steely gaze holds my own. "And besides your infatuation, what do you have to base that conviction off of?"

"He was with me when it happened."

* * *

 **End Notes:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited this story after just the first chapter! I know this second one took longer to get up than I promised, but I hope you like it none the less. Again, a huge thank you to my wonderful betas. This story would only be half-baked without them. Please let me know your thoughts on this latest chapter, I love to read your thoughts and reactions!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 _are you lost without me too?_

 _._

"He was with me when it happened."

The words are out before I can even think about them. If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have said anything, but now it's too late.

Grayson's gaze grows even more fiery, and I hear Albus mutter, "What?"

Uncle Harry grabs my arm and pulls me around to face him. "Rose, are you sure?"

"Am I sure I was with him?" I ask, not understanding him. "Yes?"

"No, are you _sure_?"

And then I realise what he's really asking. "I'm not lying," I say, yanking my arm out of his hand and turning to see Grayson looking at me like that's exactly what she thinks I'm doing.

She says, "A false alibi is-"

"It's true, so it doesn't matter."

"Then why not say anything sooner?"

"Because he asked me not to."

I cringe as soon as the words are out, saying something else I'm not supposed to tell anyone. Albus asked me once why I would never even consider becoming an Auror and the number one reason was this: keeping a secret is not a capability of mine.

Grayson pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head. "Why would he ask you to hide his alibi?"

"I don't know."

Her eyes flash with annoyance. "Are you sure you don't know this time? Because when we asked if you knew anything about Scorpius Malfoy's involvement with your cousin's murder, you said no."

"I said, I wasn't sure, actually," I say, averting my eyes and taking a step back just in case Grayson really loses her composure. "No one asked for any particulars."

Grayson's lips purse so tight they disappeared before her eyes shoot over my shoulder to glare at my uncle. "Is your entire family this skilled at finding loopholes and evading rules?"

"Technically we're only related through marriage," Uncle Harry says with a smirk.

"Not comforting," Grayson mutters.

"I'm not saying anything else out here," I interrupt, glancing towards the interrogation room, needing to do anything I can to get back inside. Grayson turns her gaze back towards me, not looking very willing to do what I want. "I'll tell you everything I know, but I'm only saying it in there."

Silence falls as Grayson and I glare at each other, both of us as stubborn as the other, but Uncle Harry breaks our stand-off by stepping between us. "I think it's as good an idea as any."

"And if she says something that takes us by surprise?" Grayson argues. "That we don't already know? We need to be prepared, to look for his reactions."

"And hear the same story twice? Like you said, this is a high-profile case of the murder of the daughter of a well-respected Ministry Head. I would think a high-standing official like yourself would appreciate efficiency."

Grayson barely quirks an eyebrow.

"Besides, Rose has made more progress than any of us have," he added.

"He's said one word."

"Two actually," Albus corrects.

Grayson gives both of the Potter men an exasperated look. Uncle Harry shrugs. "That one you can blame on me."

Before she can continue her argument, there's a knock on the door. "Excuse me?" says a short man with a youthful face that makes him look like he's still attending Hogwarts. His body is half hidden behind the open door as if he were hiding, and his high voice ends each sentence like a question. "I have a message for Lori Grayson from the Arbiter?"

"I hope you bring good news," she says, pushing past everyone in the room to get to the door. "This interrogation has been going to the hippogriffs."

The messenger takes a step out from behind the door. "You have permission to use a single dose of Veritaserum?"

~OoOoO~

My entire world shifted as soon as we left King's Cross Station at the end of the year. Scorpius greeted my parents before he kissed my cheek and made his way towards his own parents. That was when the first odd thing happened; I waved, and while Mrs Malfoy gave a polite wave back, Mr Malfoy gave me a dark look.

I tried not to let it bother me as Albus, Lily, Hugo, and I squeezed into the backseat of my family's car, the extension charm wearing off. Both my Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny were stuck in their respective offices, so Albus and Lily stayed with us until it was time to go to the Burrow for one of Grandma Weasley's family dinners to celebrate Roxanne and Lucy's graduation. And that's when the six of us found out what had been happening while we were at Hogwarts.

"I accepted a job in Romania," Dominique told Albus and I as we mingled in the back garden.

"Really?" I asked, nearly choking on pumpkin juice. "What are you doing?"

"There's a village just a few cities over from Uncle Charlie's reserve that only allows werewolves. I'll be studying them for a while, sending back anything of substance to the Ministry. Maybe talk to them and see if any would be interested in helping to trial some new potions. Oh, and I'll be leaving tomorrow."

I couldn't believe it. Dominique had been the cousin I looked up to most for as long as I could remember, and now she was moving to Romania? Indefinitely? What if she never came back? She and Uncle Charlie were similar enough that it wouldn't surprise any of us if she disappeared to Romania just like him.

By June, I realised that not having Dominique in England was only weird every time I wanted to send her a letter or drop by the flat she had shared with Molly, which turned out to not be as often as I thought it was. I did miss her dropping by our house, though. She loved our winged horses enough to stop in and help clean the stables every couple of mornings. Now that I had magic to help make the chores a breeze, I only missed her when the mucking got lonely.

And lately, it was extremely lonely. Hugo had snagged himself a girlfriend right at the end of the year, so whenever he wasn't drawing or painting in his room, he was off to see her. And Albus was just as useless after having finally asked Cassie McLaggen out. He spent the second half of sixth year following her around like a puppy, and I suspected he was spending his summer doing the same. And Lily only ever came around anymore to disappear to our neighbours, the Brays. They were Muggles except for their daughter, Tracey, who was in Lily's year at Hogwarts. It didn't help that Tracey also had a fit older brother who played lacrosse on his school's varsity team.

Just as I finished spreading around the hay and sawdust in the last stall, I heard a knock on the door and the clunk of thick heels on the dirt corridor. "Molly," I said, seeing my cousin walk in, "what're you doing here?"

"Dominique gave me explicit instructions to come help you here every once in awhile, and since I've been avoiding it for so long, I was bored enough today to grace you with my presence." She gave a little bow, brushing her multi-ringed fingers against a stall door, then immediately rubbed it against her leather bound legs as if she'd touched a cobweb. "But really, this is not my kind of place."

I laughed, closing the last stall's door. "Well, you've missed most of the fun. All that's left is putting out the feed."

"That doesn't sound _too_ painfully disgusting," Molly said, following me back to the feed room.

I filled bucket after bucket, double checking their contents against Mum's lists, then handed them to Molly and told her which stall to hang them in. The whole process took less than twenty minutes, and the two of us barely spoke at all, a fact I would have noticed if my thoughts hadn't been so scattered that day.

Unfortunately, Molly _did_ notice. "So what's wrong, Rosie?" she asked as we walked out of the stable and into the paddock where most of the horses were flying about and stretching their wings, avoiding the charms that kept them contained. "I think this silence is a record for you."

I ignored the question as I climbed up on the fence to sit on the top, but Molly wouldn't stop staring at me expectantly. I sighed. "Just stupid boy trouble," I admitted, kicking the heel of my boot against the wood. "It's probably nothing. Nothing you would know about anyways."

"Okay, okay, I've done my fair share of dating boys in my time." She smirked and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, the other side of her head shaved a clean red. "Can I take a guess that this boy trouble has to do with… Scorpius Malfoy?"

"I guess it's not that hard to figure out," I muttered, already trying to think of a way to redirect the conversation.

"So what's the trouble?" Molly pressed.

I groaned, running a hand through my hair and completely ruining the loose plait I had forced it into. I fiddled with the strands to regain my hair tie as I said, "I just haven't heard from him in a while. And it's weird not seeing him all the time. Last summer we spent nearly every day together."

"Ah, the honeymoon phase," Molly said, a lazy smile on her face. "That always wears off. But you shouldn't worry about it. Just a new part of the relationship you eventually get used to."

I could tell she had more to say and stayed quiet until she started up again. "I mean, look at Sophie and me. With my work schedule and her game schedule, the most I see of her is maybe passing each other in the flat and saying 'hello.' But what can you do when you get two people already married to their careers together?" She shrugged. "But if you want to see him, Rosie, just make a plan. He'll show up."

I nodded and thanked her for the advice, suggesting we go for a flight on the horses to avoid discussing the topic any further. Molly was really trying, and in the circumstance, she thought I was in, it would have been good advice. But things were so much worse off than she knew, so much so that even flying bareback around the paddock couldn't get my mind off of it.

It was nearly July and I still hadn't gotten a letter back from Scorpius. I had sent my barn owl, Collette, off with my letter nearly a month ago, and she had returned empty handed. I had expected to see Hephaestus at my window soon after that, but Scorpius's large black owl never showed up.

As I sat behind the register at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes the next day on a slow Sunday in Diagon Alley, I thought about showing up at Malfoy Manor to try and hunt Scorpius down, but just as I was working up the nerve, Albus appeared at my elbow. I jumped in surprise, not having heard him approach, and he put a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine, I was just thinking," I said, grabbing the stack of fliers in front of me and shuffling them into a straight pile. "It's a slow day. I don't think both of us need to be here."

"It'll make closing go faster," he said, pulling up the second stool to sit beside me. We fell into a silence as I patted the perfectly straightened papers and turned back to the loose string in my robes.

"So listen," Albus said, and I cringed. I knew those words meant he wanted to have a serious chat, which was not something I wanted. "I think I already know the answer to this, but I haven't heard from Scorpius all summer. Have you?"

I dropped the thread and crossed my arms tightly across my middle. I had been worrying over the lack of correspondence between me and Scorpius, but I had also thought that the only way it would be brought up in conversation would be if Mum asked how he was doing or if Dad asked if he would be dropping by the shop anytime soon. Albus was the last person I thought would ask, but if he hadn't heard anything either, maybe this wasn't just a bump in our relationship. Maybe something was really wrong.

"No," I said, scared to admit it now that my thoughts were spiralling down towards that conclusion that everything was not all right. "I haven't heard from him since we left King's Cross."

Albus took a silent moment to get over his surprise, then said, "Should we be worried?"

"I don't know."

We made quick plans to investigate this as much as we could. Neither of us wanted to go alone, so we waited until the next day to travel down Diagon Alley and peek into Twilfitt and Tattings. On rare occasions, Mrs Malfoy would be there to unveil a new design. We had both overheard the gossip of customers at the store and knew that had been the case a week ago, but we had no guarantee that she would still be there.

Luck was on our side, though. Through the window, I could see Mrs Malfoy instructing her mannequin on how to walk properly in the layers and ruffles of the dress. The rest of the store looked the same as last year with clusters of robes circling daises where headless mannequins modelled. All along the right wall were simple black robes waiting for Hogwarts students who were organised enough to start their shopping early.

We watched Mrs Malfoy for a few minutes before ducking beneath the window sill again. "She doesn't look any different than normal," Albus whispered.

"A bit tired."

"Not as tired as she would be if her only son were missing."

I wanted to argue but couldn't find anything to counter it. How could I accept that Scorpius was fine and simply avoiding us?

"What if I talk to her?" I suggested, eyeing the door to the robe shop.

"What do you think she'll say? Even if Scorpius doesn't want to see us, she's too polite to say it."

"I have to try," I said before Albus could stop me, standing up and brushing myself off as I approached the gleaming gold door of Twilfitt and Tattings. As I opened the door, a chorus of chiming bells echoed throughout the shop.

"Hello, hello," Mrs Malfoy greeted without removing her scrutinising gaze from her mannequin, "and welcome to- Oh, Rose," she said, finally looking over. "How good to see you." She waved away her mannequin and greeted me with a quick formal hug and kiss on the cheek. "I have missed seeing you around the manor, love."

"Yes…," I said, wary of the happy greeting. It almost seemed like Mrs Malfoy had no idea that things had changed between Scorpius and I. Maybe it was some etiquette thing I didn't know about.

"I insist that you must stop in for tea soon. I have tried telling Scorpius, but he seems to prefer disappearing from home to visit you without even asking permission. Not that I can complain, with both of you being of age now, but I would appreciate knowing when he will be gone." Mrs Malfoy talked as she walked through the store and wordlessly pointed out robes she thought would fit me, and I followed clumsily as I tried comprehending her words. Scorpius disappearing, and she thought he was seeing me? None of it made any sense at all.

"Anyways, dear, were you looking to see anything in particular?" she asked when we reached the register desk. "A special occasion coming up?"

"Oh, no, I didn't actually come to buy anything," I said, scrounging up an excuse as quick as I could to avoid offending her. "I came to see you actually. I, um, wore those robes you designed for me a while ago and I just wanted to say how perfect they are."

"Ah, so you finally had an event to wear them to?"

"Not exactly." I cursed myself, wishing I could learn from James how to charmingly lie out of a tough spot. "But I did put them on again, curious if they even still fit, and they looked marvellous." Which was true. After Roxie and Lucy's graduation dinner, I had had enough of Teddy's Firewhiskey that a trip through the Floo system sent me straight to the toilet. After that, I rode out what remained of my buzz in my room and thought it was a good idea to put the fancy emerald robes on. I didn't mention that I also slept in them that night.

"Well, I am always glad to hear when people are happy with their robes," Mrs Malfoy said, seeming not quite sure how to respond to me, a reaction I was used to from her. "And you will find a place to where them soon enough, I'm sure."

"I hope so," I said with a smile, taking a few steps back to the door. "But I can't stay to chat long. I'm meeting Albus at the… uh, family shop."

"Oh, Albus, that must be who Scorpius rushed off to see this morning. Tell them both to have a pleasant day out."

"Mmhumph," I said as I hurried out the door, hoping it sounded like a semi-affirmative noise.

As soon as the door closed, Albus stood up from where he sat against the wall of the shop, but I put a hand up to stop him from walking towards me. I put on a smile again and waved at Mrs Malfoy as I passed the window, and she waved back with a confused smile. Once I was out of her sight, I ran to Albus, grabbed his hand, and pulled him in the direction of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"What's going on?" he asked, tripping over the uneven cobblestone as I dragged him along.

"I don't know."

I filled him in on the strange encounter as we walked, but he couldn't offer any better explanations than I could come up with on my own. We came up with nothing that sounded at all conceivable.

Albus suggested we convince his mum to invite us to Malfoy Manor and ambush Scorpius when he arrived, but I shot the plan down. With my lack of stealth, we would never be able to pull it off, and I refused to let Albus go in alone. Besides, I wanted to trust Scorpius, hoped that there was a benevolent explanation that would show up in a letter any day now. We just had to be patient.

And that anxious patience carried us all the way through summer.

Before we knew it, it was the 30th of August, and we were packing for our last year at Hogwarts. Albus would have cracked and stormed Malfoy Manor if Cassie McLaggen hadn't had his ear all summer, and I managed to keep the lack of correspondence a secret from the rest of the family. Both my parents knew something was wrong, but I suspected they kept each other from asking about it. The hope I had been riding on all summer faded, but I still held on to the thought that Scorpius would find me at the station or on the train and explain everything.

So there we were on the 1st of September, kissing our parents goodbye and loading onto the train, with no sign of Scorpius. Albus left to secure us a cabin while I headed towards the back of the train, wanting to get to the prefect carriage early and look over the patrol schedules one more time before handing them out. I'd dedicated the end of the summer to my Head Girl duties in order to distract myself. My male counterpart, a Gryffindor named Matthew Thomas that Albus was good friends with, knew that I had taken on train patrol schedules but not the corridor patrol schedules for the next three months. He was more than happy to not have to worry about them, though. I went over them with him, and he made me promise to let him do the schedules for December through March. Then we took over the responsibility of greeting all the prefects as they came in, especially the new fifth years.

Matty's punctuality had us starting the meeting at exactly 11:15, even though a few students were still missing. A pair of sixth years rushed inside a minute later, apologising too much to have a valid excuse for being late, and the seventh year Hufflepuff prefect, Travis Cadwallader, came in seven minutes after that with a story about a carriage full of enchanted and enlarged chocolate frogs.

Each interruption had my heart in my throat, but as the meeting wound down, Scorpius was still missing. I handed off the pile of schedules for everyone to take, letting Matty have the final words as I sunk behind him and tried to keep the possibility of Scorpius not coming back to Hogwarts out of my mind. Albus tried to catch my eye, but I avoided it, keeping my gaze straight to the floor.

Then the carriage door slid open, and Scorpius slipped in behind the crowd. My eyes shot straight to him even as he kept his own on the schedule that someone passed back to him.

It had only been three months since I last saw him, but Scorpius had changed so much. His cheeks looked hollow, making his face even sharper than it usually was. His hair was longer and unkempt, obviously not having been trimmed all summer nor brushed that morning. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, contrasting against his skin that had, if possible, gotten paler. His robes hung off him in an unfamiliar way, which took me a moment to realise his entire body had changed along with his face. Scorpius had always been the tall, slender type, but now he looked… gaunt.

Matty finished up the meeting with a pointed reminder that tardiness and absences would not be tolerated, then dismissed them.

"Scorpius," I called as I stepped forward. Through the moving bodies, I thought I saw a flash of grey eyes before Scorpius disappeared into the crowd and flowed out into the corridor.

No one else seemed to notice my empty call except for Matty, who stood next to me, and Albus, who stayed behind. Matty cleared his throat before saying, "So I'll see you both at dinner."

"Of course, mate," Albus said, giving Matty a pat on the shoulder before the other boy nodded and left the carriage.

Albus glanced at me. "Rose?"

"Yeah?" I said, hearing the thickness in my voice and only then realised how stuffy my nose was and how wet my cheeks were. I rubbed at them as I turned toward the window. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing is wrong with you. I don't know what the hell Scorpius is up to, but I'm cursing him the next time I see him."

"Don't worry about it. Next time I see him I'll-" My voice broke, but I fought through the flow of tears. "Chuck him out the…the window and… stick him to the… the bloody train tracks."

Albus put an arm around my shoulders just in time. I buried my head into his chest, not trying to fight off the fit of emotions anymore. All the worries that Scorpius was dead or Imperiused or simply didn't love me anymore poured out into the wet spot that I left on Albus's shoulder.

My tears didn't last long. A few minutes later, I was wiping my eyes on the handkerchief Albus handed me while he cleaned off the front of his robes. In the middle of my apologising, the carriage door squeaked open again.

"There you are, Alby, we've been waiting forever. Oh! Rose, are you okay?" Cassie ran into the carriage and grabbed me into a hug before I could say anything. She was the only person in our year who was shorter than me, and it always felt oddly comforting to hug her close so that her curly brunette hair tickled my face.

"Okay, okay," she said, grasping my shoulders and giving them a squeeze. "Alby knows what carriage we're in. Find us whenever you're ready." She gave me a comforting smile before hopping over to Albus for a quick hug and kiss, then disappeared as quick as she had come.

"Alby?" I teased when the door clicked shut.

Albus gave me a threatening look. "Only she gets to call me that."

"Alright, alright," I said, hands up in mock surrender. "Guess we better go before another search party is sent."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Sure," I said with a shrug. "I mean, we were only together nearly two years." Something caught in my chest, and I had to take a deep breath before I could go on. "I managed four years of Hogwarts without him, I think I can handle one more."

"Okay," Albus said, a bit hesitant to open the carriage door but not protesting anymore. "And I mean it by the way. He's in for the worst Bat-Bogey Hex Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Whatever you say, _Alby_."

~OoOoO~

Grayson holds out her hand for the clear phial. "Thank Merlin the Arbiter is seeing sense today. No one else seems to be."

"Who's the Arbiter?" I ask Uncle Harry as the messenger explains in his annoyingly questioning tone that he must administer the dose.

"He is the link between the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Mysteries," Uncle Harry explains over Grayson's grumblings. "He decides when the use of powerful magic, like Veritaserum, is appropriate. It's much too tempting to use such power often and make our jobs easier."

"But there are times when it's necessary," Grayson says, conjuring two glasses and filling them with water from her wand. She motions to the messenger, who steps forward, lifts the phial over one of the glasses and lets three drops disappear into the water. "There you are, Bones," Grayson says, lifting the two glasses towards the female Auror.

"What? No!" I step forward and nearly grab Grayson's elbow before I think better of it. She gives me a deadly sideways look. "I'm the one who's supposed to be talking to him."

"And are you trained to question criminals?" Grayson asks. "Do you have any experience at all with Veritaserum? Do you know how specific and careful one must be in order for it to work properly?"

I pause, not sure what I need to say to convince Grayson to let me back into that room. I glance at Auror Bones and she gives me an encouraging nod. "I've read enough about it to know how it works," I say, thinking through each word in order to keep myself from another outburst. "And I know him better than anyone here. I know what he'll respond to. And like Uncle Harry said, I've made more progress than anyone else."

Grayson purses her lips as if considering it, then shakes her head. "That is not a risk I am willing to take." Her voice is softer for a moment but hardens again as she continues. "Not to mention that now you've given him an alibi, all of our evidence against him is useless. We can no longer keep him here as a suspect."

"Technically, we should release him now," Uncle Harry says.

"Aren't you one for bending rules, Potter?" Grayson snaps at him before turning back to me. "We can keep him for one more hours, at most, without finding ourselves in trouble for injustice. So forgive me for not trusting a _Creature Caretaker_ with our one chance to discover more about the conspiracy he's involved in."

"Conspiracy?" I ask, more shocked that the Aurors know some malevolent movement is happening than this being a surprise to me.

"There have been whispers, and Scorpius Malfoy is part of them whether you want to believe that or not. It was his connection to it that got us this." She lifted the glass with Veritaserum, nearly sloshing out the water. "This is our one guaranteed opportunity to find out critical information that could save many lives, and I will not let it be wasted." Her glare lingers on me for another moment before she turns to Auror Bones and stretches out the glasses of water towards her.

Auror Bones glances away from Grayson to Uncle Harry then down to me. "I think the girl should do it," she says.

The glasses in Grayson's hands shake. "I didn't ask your opinion. I am telling you to do your job."

"And the oath I swore after taking this job prevents me from doing anything that would obstruct the capture of Dark Wizards," Auror Bones replies cooly. "The girl is right. She has a better chance than I of getting a straight answer out of the Malfoy boy." Grayson opens her mouth to argue, but Auror Bones continues to talk over her. "Hank already tried Legilimency." She nods towards Auror Tyson who ducks his gaze in shame. "That boy was obviously trained in Occlumency which will help him resist the Veritaserum. We don't have enough information about the conspirators to ask specific enough questions yet. I think the girl knows more than she thinks she does." She flashes me a praising look. "She could brief us, which would waste time, or we let her do what you brought her here to do."

Grayson is still, her stony gaze still glaring at Auror Bones. Then her shoulders straighten, and she turns towards me. "Apparently, I'm out of options," she says bitterly, handing me the glasses. "I asked you here as a last resort, remember that. You don't have the luxury of messing this up."

My hands shake as I take the glasses, the collective stares of everyone in the room pressing down on me. "I'll try not to do anything stupid."

"Don't do anything to tip him off," Grayson says, obviously not amused by my comment. "Veritaserum works best when the person doesn't know they are being influenced by it, so don't act like anything has changed. You are to continue talking as planned and wait for him to drink. Try to make the questions come off as part of the conversation, and don't start shooting them at him right after he drinks."

"What if he doesn't drink it?" I ask, almost hoping that will be the case. As much as I want answers for both myself and the Aurors, with all of these last minute instructions, my fear of failing outweighs those wants.

"He's refused each time we ask if he wants water," Auror Bones says, her voice comforting. "He may not trust us, but if it's you offering, he might actually take it." Her expression reminds me of my parents, knowing that I am facing a challenge and confident I will overcome it.

I take a deep breath, holding the glasses more securely and forcing the tremors from my hands. "Okay," I say. "I can do this."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter. After all of the happiness and fluff of chapter two, there's finally some trouble in paradise. As always, a big thank you to my betas and everyone who has left a review or is following this story. Let me know what you think and I'll have the next chapter out for you as soon as I can!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _you slipped away to a mile from an inch_

 _._

 _I can do this. I can do this,_ I repeat over and over again in my head. Grayson opens the door of Scorpius's interrogation room and gives my white-knuckled hands on the pair of glasses a disapproving look. I force myself to lighten my grip. "And for Merlin's sake," she says quietly as I pass, "don't mix up the glasses."

I cringe at the comment, wanting to turn around and tell her I'm not _that_ incompetent, but then I glance down at my hands and, for a brief terrifying second, I can't remember which one has the Veritaserum. I nearly drop them as I stumble, then force myself to calm down. My right, that's where the Veritaserum is. _I can do this._ All I have to do is give him the glass and start talking. Easy.

Or at least it should be. As I approach the table, I realise it would be much more natural to hand him the glass in my left. A storm of curses swirls through my brain. I can't even hope that Scorpius won't notice if I give him a specific glass, I know he will.

Then an idea hits me. Even as I'm walking, I can see Scorpius eyeing the glasses of water. He already doesn't trust them. No matter how smoothly I put one in front of him, he's going to suspect the water's been tampered with. If I've learned anything from my work with dangerous creatures, it's that you have to use their fear to your advantage, even if what they fear is what you are forcing on them. The guilt lessens when you know you are doing it for their own good.

"They told me you've been refusing water," I say as I reach the side of the table. His eyes follow the glasses as I begin to set them down naturally, the one in my left to his side and the right one to mine. Before they touch the table, though, I hurriedly place them both side by side in the centre. Scorpius's eyes narrow, noticing the switch like I knew he would.

I take my seat and wait for him to look up. "You should drink something," I say, reaching my hand towards the glass that would have been in front of me. Scorpius meets my gaze as I slide it towards him. I've been told I have honest, trustworthy eyes. I hope the tinge of doubt I feel is masked by that.

Scorpius does not take the glass. I feel disappointment slouching my shoulders but force it away. I can do this.

I grab the other glass, trying to imagine how I would act if my actions reflected the truth, if I were giving him the clean water while taking the Veritaserum for myself. Would I be reluctant? It's not like a lie much, at all really. But I wouldn't be eager to drink it either, would I? All of this deception and playacting is making me too uncomfortable to think properly. I can only imagine the mix of emotions showing on my face as I slowly raise the glass and take a sip.

When I set the glass back down, Scorpius grabs the one in front of him, setting it down closer to him but still not drinking. So much for my master plan. "Don't you trust me?" I ask, feeling an ache in my chest despite the fact that he should be suspicious. Scorpius glances away from me but doesn't speak. My hand tightens around my glass, a mix of frustration and sadness clogging my chest. "Can't say I blame you."

~OoOoO~

Scorpius and I managed an entire month of not speaking. September came and left without us even making eye contact besides that first day where I did nothing but glare at him everywhere I went. Then October settled in, its frost and wind biting at my face as I walked through the grounds from Quidditch practice. The one good thing that came out of my issues with Scorpius was the vast amount of free time I had to devote myself to my duties as Quidditch captain and Head Girl. Between patrols and studies, I had also been able to squeeze in practices between the Gryffindors and Slytherins, who both seemed determined to take the cup away from Ravenclaw by preventing them, and indirectly Hufflepuff, from getting any time on the pitch.

In the late afternoon after our practice was finished, the rest of my team was already in the common room as I reached the Entrance Hall, having stayed behind to clean the mud off the practice Quaffles. Gryffindor would be practising that evening, and I knew that Lily was already having trouble with her team and receiving lots of criticism for being a fifth-year captain. The last thing she needed was another inconvenience for them to complain about.

I shivered as I entered the warm castle, glad to be out of the chilly Autumn air. I took a moment to let my muscles thaw before going towards the staircase but stopped when I saw two figures out of the corner of my eye.

Scorpius stood in the doorway leading to the dungeons. I glared at him in what was now a gut-reaction. He stared back with a blank look. I would have continued walking by, doing my best to ignore him, if not for the girl standing much too close beside him. She had unnecessarily long and enviously straight blonde hair and large green eyes. I recognised her as Claire Worthington, a girl in our year who was on of the kindest Slytherins I had ever met. I used to feel guilty for the cruel insults I thought about her House, especially since she was a Muggle-born, but the way her arm touched Scorpius's chased away all that guilt.

Footsteps echoed up the dungeon stairs, and I forced my feet to walk again. As I reached the staircase to the kitchens and Hufflepuff common room, I glanced over at the marble staircase, catching sight of Jasper Zabini and Caroline Nott climbing the stairs. Scorpius and Worthington followed a few steps behind. My gut felt like a bubbling cauldron, boiling even more when I saw Worthington's hand in Scorpius's.

I stormed down the kitchen steps, cursing myself for being so sensitive. What did I care if Scorpius was dating Worthington? Or palling around Zabini and Nott?

But of course, I did care. I still had no answers for Scorpius's sudden change in personality and appearance and friends. My mind went to the simplest solution, blaming all of it on the Death Eaters. I knew there were still a few Riddle followers out there, a few Death Eaters that had evaded capture. They could come out of hiding any moment. I knew that from experience.

Once when I was four years old, playing with my cousins at the Burrow, as usual, Grandma and Granddad Weasley had suddenly called in my older cousins from outside and gathered us all in the living room for hours. Hugo and I stayed the night after my other cousins were picked up by their parents. At the time, I had been so excited. Those were the memories that stuck: cooking dinner with Grandma Weasley, dancing to an old Celestina Warbeck album, sleeping in Dad's bright orange bedroom.

The memories of visiting Mum at St Mungo's were less clear.

Hearing the incident explained to me years later, however, was a moment I won't soon forget. My parents let me read the articles and told the story in their own words, detailing the attack on Mum led by a Pro-Pureblood group. They had ambushed a public event meant for non-Ministry witches and wizard to bring up concerns over the new regulations that Mum was in charge of as the new Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If passed, private venues would no longer be allowed to turn down a membership application based on blood purity. The elitist group had been led by an old Death Eater named Selwyn who had been missing since the war. Most presumed he was dead until that day.

Was it an impossibility to consider that Nott and Zabini, both from long lines of Purebloods, were pulling Scorpius into their elitist world? All things considered, that line of thought was justified.

But seeing Worthington with them changed everything. She was a Muggle-born. I was amazed that Nott and Zabini would even be seen with her. It discounted all of the theories that had been building up in my head since the beginning of the year.

All that left me with was Scorpius simply not wanting to be with me anymore and not knowing how to tell me. No secret motives or evil plans. Just a break-up.

I pounded my fist against the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, having to convince myself not to run after Scorpius and the Slytherins and curse them all. Instead, I ignored everyone in the common room and went straight to my bed, laying down on top of the duvet.

My mind went to last year, over our busy schedules and scattered meet-ups. Back then, I had thought we were fine, a bit stressed from school, but overall okay in our relationship. Had I missed something? Had I been so caught up in revising and Quidditch and prefect duties that I didn't notice us growing apart? Could I have been that oblivious?

When dinner came and I could no longer sulk in bed, I did my best not to notice Scorpius and Worthington sitting together beside a group of Slytherins that kept to themselves. Most were from old families and still held too much pride to mingle with those outside their house. Apparently being a Malfoy was the exception because Scorpius sat among them as if he belonged there. Perhaps he did. He had so many Slytherin qualities - ambition and cunning and a knack for thinking he knew best - it was a wonder he had been Sorted into Ravenclaw in the first place. Did his love for knowledge and need to be his own person really outweigh everything else?

I pushed away all those tough questions that night, focusing on my homework. I had let the afternoon slip away pouting in my bed, so I had plenty of catching up to do. The library seemed like a good place to escape my lounging housemates until Isabel Krew settled herself into the chair across from me and leant so far across the table that her arms rested across my herbology book. If I wanted to finish Professor Longbottom's essay, I couldn't ignore her.

"I think you should ask Nate to go to Hogsmeade us with," Isa said as soon as I looked up, not bothering with any pleasantries.

Nathan Reed was a fellow Hufflepuff and as opposite of Scorpius as one could find. The only face more open and honest than his was mine, and his most ambitious goal in life was to graduate. Far from being inconspicuous, I knew he'd fancied me since third year, but he wasn't exactly forward enough to ask a girl out. Instead, he had drifted to the back of my mind until that moment.

"Why would I do that?" I asked as I set aside my quill. "He never hangs around us. It'd be weird, though Marie would like him being around."

Isa rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to set those two up, I would've done it myself. No, what I meant was more of a smaller crowd. Just you, me, Nate, and… Sam."

"Sam?" I raised an eyebrow. At the end of last year, Isa decided she fancied her best friend, Sam Wood, after Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup and he'd kissed her right outside of the pitch. Thinking back on it, watching Isa standing in the middle of the path while Sam was herded away by the whole of Gryffindor House had been quite hilarious.

"Yeah…" Isa said, sliding back in her seat. "You know, with the four us, it'll be like an accidental double date."

"Then he'll see you as more than his best friend, fall in love with you, and you'll live happily ever after, right?" I asked.

"That's the plan."

I laughed at her before inking my quill again to continue my essay. "How about you just tell him you fancy him?" I suggested.

Isa sunk lower in her chair with a dramatic huff. "Because we've been best friends since we were kids. I can't just _tell_ him."

"Uh huh."

"Besides, we've got the whole 'forbidden love' thing working against us," she said. I looked up from my parchment to give her a questioning look. "You know, besides the whole 'he's a Gryffindor, I'm a Slytherin thing', his dad played for Puddlemere and my mum's a Harpy. I really don't know how we'd ever get past it."

I shot her a dirty look before going back to my essay. "Trust me, forbidden love isn't as grand as all the stories make it out to be."

Isa stayed quiet for a moment, at least letting me polish off my next paragraph, before she said, "Speaking of the arsehole…" She placed a hand on top of mine, her smile sobering. "You know I would just force Marie and Nathan to come to Hogsmeade with me, but I really think you could use the date more."

Luckily, I wasn't writing at the time, so instead of breaking the tip of my quill on my parchment, I merely knocked over my entire inkwell. I groaned as I grabbed for my wand and cleared up the mess before it reached my essay or book. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I stoppered the now empty inkwell and tossed it in my bag. "Why would _I_ need a date?"

Isa fixed me with a hard gaze. "Rose, you've been rather torn up about Scorpius since school started."

"I'm not torn up," I grumbled, scrounging around for another ink pot. "And even if I was, we dated for nearly _two years_. I don't think it's abnormal for me to be a bit put out."

"Well I don't like 'put out' Rose," Isa said with a pout. "All you ever do is work: Head Girl stuff, then Quidditch stuff, and all this schoolwork." She gestured to my essay with a disgusted look on her face. "I haven't even seen you read a book for 'fun'. It's our last year-."

"It's our N.E.W.T. year."

"Oh, don't you _want_ to have some fun?" She stood with her hands on either side of the table, leaning towards me with the most serious face I'd even seen on Isa. "Don't you want to remember your last year at Hogwarts as something other than the year Scorpius broke up with you?"

That struck out any argument I could come up with.

"Fine," I said, and Isa actually clapped with glee. "But can't we just take Troy or Albus? Does it have to be Nathan?"

"Ugh, Rose, you're missing the point. First off, Albus is your cousin, and secondly, they've both got girlfriends. It would be like four friends hanging out together. With all of us single, we'll naturally couple off. And I apologise in advance for ditching you if things go well." Isa flashed me a smile before running off before I could say anything more.

Being a good friend, I asked Nathan the next day, trying to make it sound as unlike a date as possible, but I could tell by the light in his eyes that it didn't work. I didn't have the heart to tell him Isa's scheme and accepted that the first Hogsmeade trip of my seventh year was not going to be an enjoyable one.

The worst part was that the Friday of our Hogsmeade weekend was also my birthday. Normally I could enjoy my birthdays fairly well, but when the first event of the day involved being cornered in the common room after just waking up and given a present by the boy I was going on a date with but didn't fancy, my mood immediately dampened. I really did like the beautiful white quill that he gave me and knew how sweet it was for him to give me something practical yet pretty, but as soon as I entered greenhouse seven, all I could think about was not looking at Scorpius.

Despite becoming accustomed to ignoring his presence on most days, the combination of my forced date and my birthday made it impossible for me to keep my eyes off of him. I studied the dark circles around his eyes and his agitated flinches at the smallest sounds. His hands, normally so steady, shook as he took notes on his row of plants.

Professor Longbottom had wasted no time in getting us into the practical portion of our year, so most of our classes were spent caring for our own plants and experimenting with different growing methods. We dreaded the few lectures we had, which were so rigorously detailed that hardly any of us understood the material afterwards. The good thing about this curriculum was that we were given lots of freedom in the greenhouse, and I had placed my row of Screechsnaps on the opposite side of where Scorpius worked so I could keep my back turned on him for most of the period.

With my distracted mind, I struggled to get an accurate measurement on my seedlings. They lurched away from my ruler, one even falling out of its pot in fright. I eventually gave in and asked Professor Longbottom for help, and he showed me a modified Freezing Charm that would only last a few minutes and not cause any harm to the sensitive plants. After that, my work went quickly, but I had lost so much time at the start that I ended up staying a half-hour into my free period. Professor Longbottom bid me farewell and a happy birthday as he left for another class, trusting me on my own, and I was able to concentrate enough to add my varying amounts of dragon dung to my pots. On the last one, I heaped a large amount in, and the seedling inside squealed in irritation, lifting out all of its bright red roots and sat precariously on the edge of the pot. "Oh, come on. Please. I'm sorry," I muttered, but the Screechsnap seedling refused to move. My conscience tugged at me until I scooped out most of the manure. The little seedling settled back into place, and I marked in my notes to disregard that pot. I'd come up with an excuse later.

Clearing up my things, I heard a sink running and tools being cleaned. The sound surprised me until I realised that another student must have gotten as held up as me and stayed behind. With all the clattering, I assumed it was that clumsy Gryffindor girl, Mackenzie Harris, and didn't give it a second thought as I went to another sink to wash off my own tools.

A few minutes later, I heard the other person walk towards me on their way to the door, but I was concentrating too much on cleaning the last bit of dirt stuck in the scales of my glove to notice them. When they passed behind me, a familiar voice said, "Happy birthday."

I froze in my work, needing a moment to process what had just happened, but by the time I spun around, Scorpius had already gone.

My composure for the rest of the day was broken. I didn't know how to describe the encounter to anyone without seeming overly sensitive, so I kept it to myself until Albus and I were alone in the Prefect's common room. It was too small of a space to attract a crowd, which made it ideal for revising patrol schedules while avoiding all the friends who wanted to use your birthday to bend the rules.

After I told Albus what had happened, he was quiet, not in his normal way but in an intense and thoughtful way. He excused himself after a few minutes, and I let him go, thinking he was feeling a fresh wave of loss over his best friend.

Then Cassie told me what really happened the next day.

"He struck Malfoy with some of those weird family jinxes of yours. He was upside-down with his feet hitting the ceiling and completely unable to talk for hours."

I shot Albus a look somewhere between impressed and reproachful. "Levicorpus _and_ Langlock?" Albus shrugged, continuing to pick at his toast. "It's not because of what I told you right?" I felt stupid asking, but Albus did have a tendency to overreact when in the right mood.

"No, of course not," he said quietly, putting down his toast and wiping off his buttery fingers on a napkin. "Scorpius talked to me yesterday too."

"What?" I said, leaning across the table so that I could hear without him speaking up. His eyes were darting along the table, and Cassie made a good show of distracting those around us with bets on the next Quidditch game.

"What happened?" I whispered.

"He cornered me after Quidditch practice yesterday," Albus said. "He wanted to ask for a favour."

"A favour?" I scoffed. "Alight, what did you say after you told him to go to hell?"

"I asked him what it was." Albus held up a hand before I could scold him. "I had no plan to agree to it, no matter what is was, but I had to at least know what he wanted."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's fair. So what was it?"

"He wanted me to give a letter to my dad."

I waited for a better explanation for why this caused Albus to jinx Scorpius up to the ceiling, but none came. "What did the letter say?"

"I don't know," Albus said angrily. "He's put some spell on it and I can't open it."

"You mean you have it? As in, you told him you'd do it?"

"So he would give it to me."

"But you still have no idea what it says?"

"I have ideas." Albus glanced around the table again, which had thinned out as those old enough for Hogsmeade left. "Over the summer, I overheard my dad telling yours that the Zabini family was being investigated after they were found out to have been supporting that one Ministry official, what's his name… something that sounded like Scandal? Anyways, he lost his job when they found out he was smuggling out all sorts of records from several departments. Some of those records were later found at Zabini's house. It was an open-and-shut case, apparently, and Daphne Zabini ended up in Azkaban. Nothing that concerns us except that-"

"They're Scorpius's family," I finished.

"Exactly. My dad made yours swear to not get involved in your relationship and that it had probably nothing to do with the Malfoys."

"Which is why Dad was so quiet about the whole thing all summer. I was worried he stopped being overprotective." I had been a bit concerned when Dad didn't ask about Scorpius once, especially since they seemed to get along so surprisingly well, but Uncle Harry was the only person he listened to besides Mum and Grandma Weasley. "Why wasn't any of this in the Prophet?"

"Do you have any idea how much money the Zabini family has?" Albus said. "I bet they paid off all the reporters. Besides, it's not like Daphne Zabini was the main culprit in all this, just one of many accomplices. It couldn't have been hard to keep it quiet."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," I said, my mind buzzing with all this new information. New theories spun around my head. "So with both of his parents locked up, where's Jasper Zabini been living?"

Albus gave me a knowing look. "Exactly where you think."

I cursed under my breath, not liking how all of these pieces were lining up. "Guess that explains why they're suddenly so chummy," I said, staring over at Zabini and Scorpius at the next table. Anger flooded through me as Zabini laughed and knocked Scorpius's shoulder like they were old friends. To keep myself from jinxing him, I redirected my anger back at Albus. "Why didn't you tell me this stuff before?"

"It took some time to find out," he said, obviously deflecting. We both knew that Albus's dad told him more about Auror cases than some would find appropriate, but the two of them had always had a special relationship, even before Albus decided to become an Auror. Uncle Harry's tongue became a lot looser after that. I glared at Albus until he sighed and gave me the truth. "And I was hoping that Scorpius wasn't involved and didn't want to worry you."

I shook my head, wanting to tell Albus exactly how I felt about him keeping secrets, but my curiosity at how Scorpius ended up hanging upside-down from his ankles won out. "Fine. So what happened after he gave you the letter?"

Albus looked down at the table again. "Well, we bickered a bit, not unlike the two of you used to. We got a bit nasty after awhile. I told him what he did to you was rubbish."

"Not quite the words I would use, but yes."

"I told him he couldn't come back into either of our lives and to not even think of trying to speak to you again. So when you said he did just that, I wanted to prove that I wasn't joking about my threats."

I shook my head but smiled at my stupid, overreacting cousin. As much as I hated someone else fighting my battles for me, I knew that in this case, it was a shared battle. Albus had felt just as betrayed by Scorpius as I did, and there was some satisfaction in hearing that he got what he deserved. I chuckled too when the logistics of what happened sunk in. "You _do_ realise that he talked to me before he talked to you, right?"

Albus went completely still for a moment. "I do now."

I laughed loudly, settling back into my seat as the more confidential side of the conversation ended. "You've been pissed at him for weeks. We both have. It was only a matter of time before something set one of us off."

"Nothing has set you off yet."

"Not yet, but I'm counting down the days."

"Rose!" Isa interrupted as she appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my arm. Her smile was tight with fake cheer. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, alright." I stood from the table as Isa pranced over to where Sam and Nathan were waiting. Even though I had promised Isa to go along with this "accidental double date" plan, I tried one last attempt at escape and asked Albus if he was coming.

"I can't," he grumbled. "I have detention all day."

"You got caught?" I asked. "You should know better than that. Who's it with?"

Cassie stifled her laughter behind her hand as Albus reluctantly said, "Sinistra."

"You landed yourself in dentition with the Headmistress?"

Albus glared at both Cassie and me as we laughed. "She was the only one who knew the counter-curses apparently."

"Well enjoy your day then," I said, still chuckling to myself as I left the Great Hall with Isa, Nathan, and Sam.

As one can expect, the entire day fell apart rather quickly. After Sam and I took the mickey out of Isa when she suggested Madam Puddifoot's, we ended up wandering the streets, enjoying the unusually warm autumn weather.

Sam and Isa were busy talking and teasing as normal, leaving me to drift behind to walk beside Nathan, who was so nervous he had barely even said hello. Normally, I would put on a happy face and urge him to talk, but my thoughts were too scattered to bother. My attention was torn between looking for Scorpius inside every shop and thinking that perhaps Albus and I were completely wrong about why Scorpius stopped associating with us.

Perhaps it hadn't been his choice. Blaise Zabini had been in Azkaban for years and now his wife as well. If Scorpius's aunt and uncle, and possibly cousin, were involved in some plot against the Ministry or someone inside the Ministry, there was always the possibility that they had forced him to break away from us and our family. My mind circled down into the endless schemes that the Zabini's could be involved in, and I didn't even notice that we'd entered my uncle's shop until Uncle George called to us from behind the register.

The rest was downhill from there. Isa and my uncle were close since her mother played with the Holyhead Harpies with Auntie Ginny, and of course, Uncle George had attended every game and social event. And with Oliver Wood being an old friend, Uncle George and Sam got along pretty well too.

I would have felt bad for leaving Nathan to fend for himself if I hadn't been consumed with my thoughts. I paid him little attention until it started to rain and he suggested going back to the castle. We left Isa and Sam in Weasley Wizard Wheezes and trudged back to Hogwarts with few words. In the Great Hall, I nearly forgot to thank him for coming with us before I walked down the stairs towards the dungeons without an explanation.

I had been keeping my thoughts cooped up in my head all day, and I need to talk to Albus before it exploded. One advantage of being Head Girl was always knowing the passwords to both the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms. The dimly lit Slytherin common room was full of first and second years along with a few older students who, like me, had come in from the rain. I found Aaron Jordan on one of the uncomfortable looking leather chairs, and he told me Albus hadn't come back from detention yet.

I left the Slytherin common room and returned to the Great Hall, hoping to run into Albus there, but with no luck.

There were so many thoughts buzzing through my mind that all I wanted was to talk to Albus about them, but being pent up in my head, those ideas were quickly turning into restless energy.

I hurried across the empty grounds to the Quidditch Pitch and grabbed my broom from the closet. Thunder sounded in the sky above as I mounted the broom, but the risk of getting hit my lightning seemed like nothing compared to going back to the castle. Once in the air, I flew a couple laps, nearly knocking into the stands. The rain fell in thick curtains, obscuring my sight, but the loss of control that came with not knowing where I was going calmed my nerves. I barely noticed the cold raindrops sinking through my clothes.

After only fifteen minutes, my shivering became too violent to ignore. My body exhausted itself trying to keep itself warm. I felt myself leaning too much on my broom and practically falling off by the time I landed. But it was worth it. I could barely hold onto my broom as I sprinted to the changing rooms for some shelter, but my brain was as empty of thoughts as my muscles were of energy.

I put away my broom and cast a Warming then Drying spell over myself and my clothes, my muscles stiff from shivering. Once out of the weather and no longer soaked to the bone, my exhausted ebbed away. Well, I at least no longer felt like I was going to topple over. I stared out the doorway to the pitch, watching the rain pelt the grass and wondering if it would be stopping soon. I wasn't exactly looking forward to walking back to the castle in that.

"I knew you would only be out there a short time."

I spun around to find Scorpius at the entrance of the changing rooms, standing in the dead centre of the small corridor with his hands in his pockets.

"What're you doing here?" I shouted, extremely disconcerted that I had no idea how long he had been standing there and that I hadn't noticed. "How did you know I was here? Did you follow me?"

"I suppose so."

"You suppose so?"

"I saw you walk here and then decided to walk here myself." I bit back my retort that he had practically defined the term 'following' and let him continue. "I wanted to talk to you."

"If it's about the letter, Albus already told me."

"I figured he would. But I want to talk about something else."

"We don't have anything else to talk about." I brushed past him, gathering my coat around myself as I prepared to go back into the rain.

"But I have something to say," Scorpius said just as I reached the door. The fierceness of his voice made it impossible for me not to turn around. He stood exactly the same, only turned in the opposite direction, not at all matching the tone of his voice. Only his eyes showed any decent emotion, the same colour as the storm clouds outside. "I am more sorry than you can know."

The unexpected apology hit me like lightning.

"Rose." Scorpius took a step forward, and I took three back.

"No, I don't want to hear it," I said. "Be honest with me, Scorpius, what happened?"

The hand that had been reaching towards me returned to its pocket. "I wish I could tell you."

"Please, just… please, we can help you." This time, I stepped towards him, close enough that I could smell his familiar cologne. "Albus and I, we can help, whatever it is. If you need Uncle Harry's help, forget this letter, we can talk to him ourselves."

Scorpius looked at me with a slightly quizzical look. "The letter is not what I think you think it is."

I blinked as I followed that statement. "Then what is it?"

"I-"

"Wish you could tell me, right?"

He fixed me with his eyes, trapping me in that room for another moment. I watched as something shifted in his mind, his eyes changing from stormy to bright. "Do not let Albus deliver that letter," he said in a rush.

"What?"

"You cannot let Albus give that letter to Harry Potter." Scorpius came closer and talked softer, his eyes glancing around. "There are people watching me. I have to do what they ask. They may even be able to hear me now, but Rose." He grabbed my shoulders, leaning down in the same way he used to when he kissed me, but this time, he stopped just in front of my nose. "Stop that letter."

I didn't realise I'd stopped breathing until I heaved in a breath, attempting to settle my racing heart. "Why?"

"You have to trust me."

"I did trust you." I pushed him away with all my force, making him stumble back. "I even convinced my friends and my family to trust you. And now… I don't know if I can anymore."

"You have to-"

"I don't have to do anything. I'm not making promises when I don't know the whole story."

Scorpius straightened out his clothes, a stoic look settling back over his features, making them look like stone. "I wish I could tell you."

"And I wish I could forgive you."

I hurried out of the room before he could look at me again, then was nearly blown over by the wind. What had started as such a lovely day had turned into a horrible storm, and I sprinted through it as fast as I could. By the time I reached the Great Hall, I couldn't tell if I was shaking more from the anger or the cold.

Albus was at the top of the dungeon stairs about to go down when I shouted at him. "Where's the letter?"

He tried to convince me to dry myself off first, but once he saw the rage I was in, he led me back to the Slytherin common room and into his dormitory. He pulled the letter out of his schoolbag, and I snatched it out of his hand as soon as it was in my sight.

"Did you figure out how to open it?" he asked as I pulled out my wand, but his question drifted off once I'd lit the paper on fire and let the whole thing burn up in my hand.

Albus's eyes were so wide they were in danger of popping out of his head. "What did you do that for?"

I stared at the ashes in my hands, my anger burnt out with the flames. I didn't quite know why I had done it. What I should have done was let Albus deliver it as planned just to spite Scorpius, show him that he couldn't ignore me for months and months then ask for a favour. But for one rare time in my life, my heart and mind had been telling me the same thing.

"It felt right," I said, brushing the blackness off my hands.

~OoOoO~

I watch Scorpius for a few moments, trying to think of what else I could say to make him drink, but there's nothing. The only option I have left is to go along with the rest of the plan, keep up the ruse that nothing significant happened when I was outside this room. He'll be thirsty eventually, right?

"I promised to tell them everything I know," I say, though as a question, this time, asking for permission. These aren't my secrets to tell, but this is as close as I've ever gotten to having the Aurors' help. I've lost count of how many times I asked Scorpius to go to my Uncle Harry, that he would be able to do something no matter what trouble Scorpius was in, especially after he started his Auror training, but he had always refused. This wasn't at all how I imagined our asking the Auror department for help would go, but I would take it.

Scorpius nods his head the slightest bit, looking me straight in the eyes before he turns his gaze back down to the floor.

I turn my chair to face the enchanted wall instead of Scorpius, not able to look at him as I speak even if he seems to be okay with it. I suspect the nod was only one of acceptance, not one of agreement. Out of the corner of my eye, I can still see his water glass. My only option is to tell the Aurors everything I know. It won't be half as helpful as Scorpius's talking would be, but it's the only chance I have of putting an end to the secrets between us.

"It all started the summer before our seventh year," I say, staring at a crack in the wall in order to distract myself from the water glass. "I completely lost correspondence with Scorpius. As did Albus." A wave of bitterness hits me as I remembered that horrible summer, waiting for a letter that never came. I swallow it down, needing to concentrate in stripping it down into as few words as possible.

"I talked with Mrs Malfoy once over the summer," I continue, "but she thought Scorpius was still in touch with Albus and me, even disappearing from home to visit us. Obviously, he wasn't with us."

I pause, taking a risk by glancing towards Scorpius. His hands are folded on the table next to the water glass, though his bound wrists make it impossible for him to seem comfortable. His eyes stare at the table, though I can tell by the wrinkle in his brow that he's listening to my every word.

"When we returned to Hogwarts for our last year, everything changed," I continue. "Scorpius, Albus, and I were friends for years until then, but nearly all year, Albus and I barely spoke to Scorpius at all."

I remember that first day back, all of my friends' attempts to cheer me up with threats towards Scorpius, but nothing could help the hurt of seeing him sitting at the old Slytherin table with the two people I hated most at Hogwarts and the one person who would spark more jealousy in me than I thought I had.

"He became friendly with his cousin, Jasper Zabini, a Pureblood Slytherin." I try to keep the contempt out of my voice when I say those last two words. "As well as two other Slytherins, Claire Worthington and Caroline Nott." I stop there, knowing that I don't have to mention the Nott's dark family history.

Scorpius's cheek twitches at the mentions of those three names, and I think for a moment he might say something to defend them. Jealousy stings my stomach at the thought, especially of him defending Worthington.

Then the door squeaks open behind me. I can't hold back my annoyed sigh as I turn around, ready to call Grayson a hypocrite for berating me about wasting time and interrupting five minutes later, but it's only Uncle Harry at the door. "Sorry, Rose," he says, motioning to me.

As I walk towards my uncle, I wonder what could possibly be the matter now. Maybe Grayson changed her mind about giving me a chance after watching my failure at getting Scorpius to drink the Veritaserum, or maybe this is some sort of plan to speed it along, hoping that he will drink it with no one else in the room. Well, if that;s the plan, Grayson is mad. Scorpius is smarter than that. If he doesn't trust the water, he won't drink it under any circumstance.

I wait for Uncle Harry to close the door before snapping, "What is it this time?"

Uncle Harry rubs the back of his neck, taking a few steps down the corridor to the room next door. He puts his hand on the handle but pauses to look back at me with an apologetic look. "Your dad is here."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This chapter is the longest one yet, and I hope that you enjoyed. I really appreciate all the support this story has gotten from reviews, favourites, and follows. Thank you for all the positivity. As always, this story would be nothing without all of my beats, thanks, guys! Please leave a review letting me know your thoughts on the story so far. Things are really starting to heat up now, so be ready for more revelations, heated arguments, and tough conversations. The next chapter will feature a lot more Rose/Scorpius moments, as well as bringing in good old Ron Weasley. (Enticing enough to keep you reading?) Will update soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _maybe the truth hurts so it's easier not to know_

 _._

"Your dad is here." Uncle Harry lets the words sink in before turning the handle and opening the door to another interrogation room.

"Shit," I mutter, taking a step back.

Uncle Harry gives me a hard look, motioning for me to go into the room. "You could have told him before coming here and had this row hours ago," he said quietly.

I glare at him. "Yeah, yeah," I say, waving away his words as I compose myself and head inside. I see Albus first, standing next to the doorway. Thankfully, no one else decided to join in, though that gratefulness disappears when I see my dad's face. He's slouched in a chair, arms crossed and face red. My heart rams against my chest and I feel like an eleven-year-old caught sneaking biscuits after bedtime again. And just like those times frozen in the kitchen as the lights come on, I have no idea what to say.

Apparently, I don't need to say anything, though, because before Uncle Harry can even close the door, Dad shouts, "How can you be defending that rotter?"

"Dad," I say in the scolding voice I've always used when he insults Scorpius in front of me. I haven't used it in a long time, not since we broke up before seventh year, but it seems to have lost all of its effectiveness. Dad does not seem at all apologetic. We continue to glare at each other in silence before I say, "He didn't-."

"Like hell, he didn't!" Dad cuts me off. He stands from his seat and slaps the table that separates us. "They found his wand. The curse that killed Molly came from his wand."

"He wasn't there-"

"Harry already told me that lie." His stern glare softens for a moment into one of disappointment with a tinge of desperation. "You aren't a liar, Rose, and you pick now, you pick _him_ , to start."

"I'm not lying!"

Dad pinches the bridge of his nose and paces on the other side of the table. "I don't know what's worse: you lying or telling the truth." He stops and glares at me again. "I thought you were through with him."

I cross my arms and give him a glare to match his own. "And I thought you used to like him."

"Used to," he says. "Before he abandoned you."

"He came back," I say, knowing the reaction that will get from him.

As expected, Dad's anger melts away in a second. He turns his back to me, gathering his thoughts. Without turning around, he replies, "And then he killed Molly."

I march towards him. "He didn't!"

"But he's involved!" Dad turns around and takes a few storming steps towards me as well. Uncle Harry steps past me to put a hand on Dad's shoulder while Albus grabs my elbow. Dad leans towards me, only held back by Uncle Harry. "When are you going to see," he says in a low voice, "that some people can't change who they are. A Malfoy is a Malfoy."

"And what exactly is a Malfoy, Dad?" I say in just as menacing of a tone. "Someone rich? Someone snobby? Someone who is forced into the wrong crowd? That doesn't make him a murderer!"

"Of course not," Dad says, taking me by surprise enough to stop straining against Albus's grip. "Malfoys don't get their hands dirty. They let someone else take the fall for them and squirm out of trouble themselves. And I don't want you taking the fall for him!"

I flinch at his words as if his overwhelming concern is a physical thing that slaps my face. A flood of understanding pushes out the remainder of my anger, though Albus still tugs me to the other side of the room while Uncle Harry pushes Dad away as well. Dad fears for me the same things I fear for Scorpius: that we would allow ourselves to get hurt in order to protect someone we love.

I face the other wall, turning my back to Dad. How do I make him understand that I would gladly take the fall for Scorpius as he would Mum? Or, perhaps a bit easier for Dad to accept, that I'm not taking the fall for him at all, that Scorpius would never do that?

"I'm finishing this," I say, turning around to face Dad again.

He leans against the opposite wall, his eyes wide and pleading. He knows he can't tell me what to do anymore, though he never could control me even at a young age. I recognise that look, from when I was seven years old, sitting on a branch halfway up a tree. He hovered on a broom an arm's reach away, the branches stopping him from coming any closer. It was my choice to either go to him or stay. He begged me to come to him, to please come here. "Please, Rosie," he says now. "Please come home. Don't involve yourself in this more than you already have."

Seeing that pained look on my dad's face, all I want to do is run into his arms, climb into his lap like I had when I was seven and tell him I'm okay. But I can't.

I shake my head and step towards the door. "I'm too involved already."

~OoOoO~

After the burning of the letter, my hatred towards Scorpius died. I kept going over our conversation, trying to figure out what it meant. Who could have been watching him?

Of course, I suspected Jasper Zabini and Caroline Nott, but before I stole Albus's invisibility cloak or the Marauder's Map to spy on them, Scorpius stopped associating with them. In less than a week, Scorpius began eating his meals alone. He showed up for prefect meetings on time, attended all of his classes again, and threw himself into captaining the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

When Christmas holiday came around, Marie Creevey, thankfully now dating Nathan, told me she had seen Scorpius sign his name on the list of students that would be staying at Hogwarts over the holiday. I hoped that was a good sign.

The day before leaving for home, Albus, Hugo, Lily, and I made our way to Hagrid's since it had been a while since any of us had visited the old half giant. But as we trudged through the snow, I spotted a tall dark shape disappearing into the Forbidden Forest.

"Tell Hagrid I'll be right there," I said to the three of them, not waiting for a response before I hurried as fast I could through the knee-deep snow.

As soon as I reached the tree line, the snow practically disappeared. Through the bare branches and bushes, I could see Scorpius standing just a few feet into the forest, back to me even as I less than quietly made my way towards him.

I dusted the clumps of snow off the ends of my robes and stomped my boots clean, hoping that Scorpius would turn around and acknowledge me. He did not. The silence gnawed at me until I couldn't take the quiet anymore and the first words that came to my mind burst out. "So I hear you're staying here over the holiday?"

As soon as I asked, I flinched at the question. Scorpius barely reacted at all, turning ever so slightly to say over his shoulder, "I am."

That was it. I wanted to pick up the muddy snow at my feet and throw it at the back of his head. Instead, I pressed forward. "Should I be worried that you're avoiding going home?"

His shoulders tensed, and I took a step back, knowing I was treading on protected territory. "My parents are not a part of any of this if that is why you are asking." The venom in his voice was so unfamiliar to me that I felt afraid of Scorpius for the first time. Even after hearing all of the stories from my parents, the Malfoys had never been a fear in my life, but I knew Scorpius would do anything if it meant completing a goal. It was his most Slytherin trait. I never thought before that I could be getting in the way of whatever plan he had or considered what he would do if I involved myself too much.

Then I forced that thought from my mind. I trusted Scorpius, even after his silence all summer and the betrayal I felt seeing him on the train. After our conversation at the Quidditch pitch, I realised that there was a good chance he hadn't done any of it willingly. I had to trust what I already knew about Scorpius: he would never hurt me and he would never lie to me.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know your parents. I should've known they would never… I don't know what but… they wouldn't involve themselves in this, whatever this is."

Scorpius relaxed his shoulders again but did not say anything more. I wondered if he hoped that I would leave or if he had wanted me to follow him in the first place, but Scorpius was smart. If he hadn't wanted me to see him, I wouldn't have. He had something to say to me, and I wasn't leaving until I found out what that was.

"Should I leave?" I asked, hoping that he would get out whatever it was faster if he thought I was going.

"No," he said.

I expected him to say more, but when the silence settled over us again, I sighed. "Scorpius you have something to say, so just say it."

"I am trying," he said, which only confused me. He had said so little so far it was hard to believe that he had been trying to say anything at all. Then the thought of some sort of silencing spell entered my mind, and I thought of every spell that could keep him from saying what he wanted to say. Before I spiralled too deep into that conspiracy, though, Scorpius turned around, fixing me with a sad and hopeful expression. "I am trying to make all of this go back to how it was."

"Is that even possible?" I asked before thinking. I didn't know what going back entailed, if he merely meant resolving whatever situation he had found himself in or if he was including everything that had changed since then: his duties as a prefect and Quidditch captain, his friendship with Albus, his relationship with me. After all this, was it possible to pick up where we had left off?

"I think it could be," he said, the sadness in his face dissipating and leaving only the hope.

His expression sent a wave of warmth through me, sparking the bits of hope inside of me that had long been abandoned. I allowed myself, for the first time since the year began, to imagine a future where we left all of this behind us.

Scorpius would figure this out, I trusted that, but all of these months of waiting had been agony. The prospect of sitting around doing nothing for however long it took Scorpius to mend this loomed over me. "What can I do?" I asked, needing some task to keep me busy. "Anything at all, please."

His gaze fell to the ground, his mouth puckered as if on the verge of saying something he was still unsure of. "You could put in a good word about me to your uncle," he said, still not meeting my gaze.

"My uncle?" I asked, thinking of all five of them and which one Scorpius could mean, but as soon as their faces flashed through my mind, I realised exactly what he meant. "Wait, did you?" I asked, that hope in my chest in full flame. "Did you apply for Auror training?"

Scorpius looked up, a slight crinkle in his right eye. "I did."

My feet ran over to him before my mind could catch up. I grabbed him in a hug, pressing him close, and when I realised what I was doing, I quickly backed away with a muttered, "Sorry." Not sure how to come back from that, I held out a hand.

Scorpius's hands were raised as if he had frozen the moment before hugging me back. He looked between them and me, his eyebrows scrunched together and his lips tugged down in a pained expression. His eyes closed for a brief moment before he placed his arms back at his sides. When he opened his eyes again, his face had resumed its neutral expression. He took my offered hand and shook it stiffly, then buried both of his hands deep in his pocket. He did not meet my gaze again.

It was obvious that I had messed up the moment, so I said a quick goodbye and picked my way back out of the forest, carrying a lot of mixed feelings. Whatever weight had been lifted from no longer holding a grudge against Scorpius was replaced by the burden of knowing Scorpius was handling this entire situation on his own and there was very little I could do. No matter how many times I told myself that I had done all I could and that I would do as he asked and talk to Uncle Harry over the holiday break, I still felt guilty for leaving him alone in the forest. That pained expression haunted me throughout tea with Hagrid, as well as through the rest of the day, night, and boarding the train the next day.

The only excitement of Christmas holiday happened as soon as I got off the train. My dad was the only family member at the platform, and after a quick hello, he told Albus, Hugo, Lily, and I that he had strict instructions to get us to Shell Cottage as quick as possible. Victoire was having her baby.

My first day of winter holiday was spent sitting in a cramped living room with my entire family while listening to my eldest cousin scream and curse upstairs. By the time baby Remus Xavier Lupin showed up at two in the morning, most of us were too drained from staying up so late and from the Firewhiskey Uncle George had snuck in to trust ourselves to hold the newborn. After a brief fawning, we were in our own beds at home.

In comparison, the rest of holiday break dragged on. There were a few trips back to Shell Cottage and then later to Teddy and Victoire's cottage in the Mountain View cul-de-sac. The most thrilling part about that was enduring Dad's driving into the muggle town. Besides those few visits and Christmas and New Year's, I spent most of my days tucked away in my room revising for N.E.W.T.'s. With Hugo and I both being of age, the daily chores around the barn required nothing more than a few flicks of a wand. I would have taken more time to ride around the skies if the winter winds weren't so bitter cold that no amount of enchanted gloves and Warming potions made the rides bearable.

Despite the dreaded exams looming in the near future, I was happy to return to Hogwarts, glad to have more than revising to occupy my mind. My strange conversation with Scorpius had not left me alone all break, a constant reminder that while I enjoyed my break surrounded by family, Scorpius was at Hogwarts by himself. I thought about writing him a letter, a little something to keep him company but decided against it, remembering Scorpius's words. "There are people watching me."

The weeks away from home reflected well off of Scorpius, though. He stood straight again, the wariness gone from his shoulders. He walked down corridors without glancing behind him and caught the Snitch for the first time that year in the game against Slytherin. Albus was less than thrilled about that, but I couldn't help but take it as a good sign.

Even though Albus remained cold towards Scorpius, his Ravenclaw friends warmed back up to him and allowed him to eat his meals with them again. I was happy not to have to watch him sit by himself anymore, but after a few weeks, having him sitting so near but unable to talk to him like before became just as painful.

Then in late March, Matty was too sick to attend Transfiguration. I wouldn't have noticed if Professor Roland hadn't asked us to pair up to practice changing the appearance of another person. With Matty's absence, the class was at an odd number, leaving Scorpius without his usual partner.

"You can practice with Potter and Weasley," Professor Roland said, using the three of them together. I expected Scorpius to protest, but he did as the professor asked. "I can expect excellent work from the three of you," she said in a hushed voice before leaving to correct the wand movements of our classmates.

Albus refused to get out his wand. He glared at the floor as Scorpius glanced between Albus, me, and Professor Roland. I wanted either of them to say something to the other. I had given Albus a basic summary of my conversations with Scorpius, leaving out all of the personal bits and focusing on the fact that he was a victim and not an instigator. Albus was not one for admitting he was wrong, though, and accepting that Scorpius was innocent meant saying sorry for cursing him in the corridor. Scorpius wasn't likely to apologise either, not when he didn't think he did anything wrong.

That left me with only one option.

I concentrated on the spell, careful not to mutter it under my breath as I often did unconsciously, then swished my wand in Scorpius's direction. He flinched as the spell hit him, forcing his gaze on me but not looking surprised at all. Instead, he plucked a strand of hair from his head to inspect it, having felt my spell cause his hair to go black. Albus glared at me, but I ignored the look and flicked my wand his way too. He shook his head as if trying to shake off the magic, but it was too late. His hair was already Malfoy blond.

That was when I burst out laughing, unable to look at them anymore. Scorpius's black hair contrasted his pale skin and made him look like a member of the Screaming Sirens, and Albus's dark eyebrows stood out and exaggerated the incredulous look he was giving me.

They finally looked at each other, examining what I had done, then began laughing themselves. "You missed a spot," Albus said, raising his wand and causing Scorpius's dark hair to grow into a large curly mess that reminded Rose of her brother.

"Oh very funny, Potter," Scorpius said with a crooked grin, flicking his own wand at Albus. A long bushy beard seemed to burst onto Albus's face. I was bent over laughing when they turned their wands on me.

By the end of class, it was as if the past ten months never happened. At least for Albus and Scorpius. As far as my own relationship with Scorpius went, we only ever saw each other with Albus around. We spent the next two months by each other's sides without saying more than a handful of words to each other each day. The only words I wanted to hear from him where that this whole mess was over and he could tell me everything. Scorpius knew that, so he said nothing.

Then the N.E.W.T.'s crashed upon us like the giant squid, leaving us scrambling for the shore of graduation and leaving me no time to think about Scorpius or what he might be up to. All of the seventh years were drowning in revising notes, none us talking to each other as we passed in the library or the common room. Meals in the Great Hall turned into study halls with food.

The night before our first exam, Albus and Scorpius joined me in the Prefect's common room to revise. The room was small, having previously been a storage closet before a group of prefects had the bright idea to turn it into an exclusive common place for themselves fifteen years ago. While it was better than the idea of meeting in an empty classroom or the corridors, the limited space meant it usually remained unused. The only reason anyone visited was to check the bulletin board or pick up a patrol schedule. Even with only three of them, the place was cramped. I took over the table while Albus spread him and his books across the floor and Scorpius settled himself and his book into an armchair next to a nightstand piled high with old essays and notes.

At midnight, Albus quit, muttering that Charms wasn't worth this much effort. I waved a good night at him, not taking my eye off my reading. I wasn't worried about the practical portion of the exam, but all these theories had me worried enough to not even notice that Albus had left Scorpius and me alone for the first time since he became our friend again.

Scorpius kept to himself, never lifting his head away from his notes either, and a comfortable silence settled over us now that we no longer had Albus cursing under his breath every two minutes. I made myself comfortable on the thinly cushioned seat, lifting my feet onto the other chair. The night continued to affect my body, and I had to blink rapidly to clear my vision every few minutes when the words in front of me went blurry. I continued to tell myself five more minutes until my eyes closed and my head leant into my shoulder.

I hadn't realised I had fallen asleep until Scorpius nudged my arm. "Rose? Rose, I think we better call it a night."

"Huh?" I said, coming to and immediately blushing at Scorpius's proximity. How could he still have such an effect on me?

"We should both go to bed," he said, his right eye crinkled in amusement.

"Right," I said, reaching for the book I had been reading and finding that spot empty. In fact, the entire table was empty except for my schoolbag that bulged with all of my books and notes. "Oh, thanks," I said, too afraid to look at him directly as I said it. Having someone put away my things was not supposed to make me feel this fluttery. I blamed it on still being half asleep.

As I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood from the table, Scorpius did move from where he stood. I could have squeezed past him, but it felt like he was blocking my way for a reason. "Have something you want to say?" I asked, coming off a little shorter than I meant to. I cleared my throat, hoping to clear out some of the nerves as well. "I mean, you look like you want to say something so… y'know, you should say it."

Scorpius's face tightened into a grimace, and my heart thudded with hope. Could this be it? Was it finally time. "Are you…? Is it…?" I struggled for the right way to ask. "Can you tell me…?" His face dropped into a flash of frustration before he turned away from me. I could feel him closing up again, and I stumbled in my hurry to grab his hand before he could walk away. "Scorpius, wait, I'm sorry. I know… I know you'll tell me as soon as you can."

He turned back to face me, and I stared up at him. He avoided my face by staring at the floor. No, he was staring down at our hands, mine still gripping his. I let go.

His hand retreated back inside his pocket, then pulled something out. "I wanted to tell you," he said, holding the piece of parchment out to me. I hesitantly took it, glancing down at the words as he continued. "I was accepted."

Then, just as in the Forbidden Forest, my body took control and hugged him, jumping to wrap my arms around his neck. My mind flashed back to the last time this had happened, to the look of pain on his face as I let go, but before I could release him, his arms encircled my waist. I held him tight, not wanting this moment to go away, and he gripped me with the same intention. His head nuzzled against my neck, his breath like a breeze down my back. The tears that escaped my eyes were unexpected and travelled down to sink into his shirt.

"Rose," he said, the end of his nose tracing across my cheek. I turned, waiting for our lips to brush, but he pulled away enough to make that an impossibility. "I cannot give you what you want."

My mind had grown too foggy to decipher what he meant at first. The only thing I wanted at that moment was to pull his mouth to mine, but as his arms loosened their hold around my waist, I remembered what else I wanted: the truth.

"Why?" I asked, my hands leaving his neck but clinging to the front of his shirt. "What would happen if I knew?"

His eyes gleamed in the lamplight, reflecting off the water held there. I had never seen Scorpius this close to tears, which only made my own fall faster. His hands reached my cheeks, rubbing away the tears with little success. "If you knew," he said, "you would go on your own to do something stupid and heroic and self-sacrificing, and I will not lose you like that." His fingers tightened for a moment before he let go and stepped back.

My hands slipped from his shirt, falling to my sides as he turned around and walked towards the door.

I didn't know when I would see him again. During exams? While revising? At the end of the year feast? All of those were maybes, in public spaces. Then what? After Hogwarts, there would be no guarantee I'd see him again. Even though Albus would be in training with him, their friendship was still shaky. This could have been my last chance not to lose Scorpius forever.

"What if I changed my mind?" I said as he reached the door, stopping him before he could turn the handle. "What if I didn't care about knowing? What if I trusted you enough to look past this secret? Would it change anything?"

Scorpius's hand fell from the doorknob, but he took his time turning to face me again. "Do you mean… would it change us?"

I nodded, letting this glimmer of hope that had been growing since our conversation in the changing room take over. "Things are changing, I can tell. I need to know… are they changed enough?"

A series of emotions crossed Scorpius's face through the movements in his brows and lips, and his eyes. What I thought had been a simple question had a great effect on him. Finally, matter-of-factly, he said, "No."

All of the hope in my body turned to lead in my veins, dragging my body down and making my limbs feel heavier. My eyes shut against the fresh wave of tears forcing themselves out, but then the back of his hand brushed against my cheek. I opened my eyes to find Scorpius right in front of me, a look of steel on his face as he said, "But I have."

I sniffled, not sure if I should be happy or sad at that last remark. "What?"

"I distanced myself from you to keep you safe, so they would stop thinking they could use me to get to you. Then I realised that whether or not we're together, I would never betray or hurt you. I allowed them to control me even though there is nothing they could do to make me-"

My hand grabbed the back of his neck, and I stopped his words with my mouth. I didn't wait for him to respond before pulling back. "A simple 'yes' would have sufficed."

His face was frozen in surprise before melting into a crooked grin. "You know how we Ravenclaws can be. Always a bit long-winded."

A smile spread across my face, squeezing out the last remaining tears. Scorpius brought a tentative hand to my cheek, guiding my mouth back towards him while his other hand glided from my waist to my hip to my lower back. He opened his mouth and started talking again. "I never stopped loving you."

"I know, I know," I said before closing the distance.

Despite nearly a year passing since our last kiss, we fell back into a familiar, if more speedy, rhythm. My grip on his neck had me almost lifted off the ground, only the tips of my toes touching the ground. One of his hands was lost in my hair, the other gripping the bare skin of my back underneath my jumper. Last year, we could have stayed like this forever, but we had an entire year of waiting behind us.

Scorpius's hand left my hair to get a firm hold of my lower half as he lifted me up, one arm bracing my back while the other gripped my thigh. With my legs holding me around his waist, my hands were free to discard my jumper and work on his. I kissed down his throat and to his collarbone as my fingers tugged the ends of his stiff jumper from under my legs and roamed across the familiar crevices of his stomach.

I fell against the couch cushions as he laid me down, wasting no time in shoving his scratchy sweater over his head. As soon as he was free, his lips went to the nape of my neck, running the tip of his tongue over the sensitive skin. The combination of his warm mouth gliding across my collarbone and his cool fingers skimming along my sides and brushing against the edges of my bra had my mind feeling as if it were sinking into a well of passion and pleasure that it could drown in.

But one thought kept me above the surface, not letting me lose myself in the waters yet. "Scorpius," I gasped. "Wait."

His hands stilled against my skin, and he lifted himself away, sending a cold chill across my exposed stomach. His face was confused, a bit scared, ready to run. I lifted a hand to his cheek, wiping away that fear. He settled himself closer to me again.

I traced the bottom of his lips with my thumb, a smile on my own lips as I said, "I love you too."

That was how I found Scorpius's smile again, the one that crinkled his eyes shut. Then I dunked my head back and let the sea of Scorpius swallow me.

~OoOoO~

I leave the room, Dad not saying another word to stop me. Once in the corridor, I fall back against the wall and wrap my arms around myself. Albus soon follows and wastes no time mirroring my posture next to me. "You okay?" he asks.

I shrug, wiping off my wet cheek on my shoulder. "I'm not used to disappointing my parents, especially my dad."

Albus nods. "You are the perfect child."

"Shut up," I say, poking my elbow against his ribs while trying to hide my smile. "It's just… even when I went and dated the one person he told me to stay away from, he didn't react this bad. I thought our fighting over Scorpius was over."

Albus hesitates before saying, "The fight's not really about Scorpius anymore."

"I know that," I say hurriedly, not wanting to discuss what the fight was really about or how I suspect Albus and Uncle Harry are starting to have the same concerns as my dad. Instead, I switch to another topic. "Though I still can't figure something out. Why would he not want an alibi?"

Albus shrugs next to me, running a hand through his hair. "The only reason someone wouldn't want an alibi is if they _wanted_ to go to Azkaban, but why would he want that?"

Why would Scorpius want to stay under arrest? What advantage could that possible give him? Then I remember him telling me how he had few safe places left, how his life would be in just as much danger as mine if they saw us together. Albus had described Scorpius's arrest to me, how he had been sitting at the table at his flat and waiting for the Aurors to find him. He never put up a fight or claimed innocence.

Scorpius wanted to be here, perhaps he even wanted to be convicted and sent to Azkaban. There seemed to be only one reason why someone would want that. "Maybe he ran out of safe places to hide," I say, letting the thoughts out as they come to me. "Azkaban is one of the most secure places in Britain. If he needs protection from someone, it's an ideal place to be."

"You think he had a falling out with the people he was working for?" Albus asks, contemplating the idea. "That is a possibility."

"It's the only thing that makes sense."

There is a moment of silence as Albus seems to be mustering up the courage to say something more. "Or maybe he doesn't want you knowing he's done something worse."

"Worse than murder?"

"I'm just saying Rose," Albus says with hands up in surrender. "We don't know anything about the people he's involved in. Are you really ready to hear the truth from him?"

"Of course," I say without thinking. "I've waited over two years to find out what the big secret is. I'm more than ready."

"Even if he tells you something you don't want to hear?" Albus stares at me with concern. "He might not be as innocent as you think he is."

"He's a good person," I say, pushing myself away from the wall and glaring at Albus. "He's your best friend and partner. You should know that."

"I know _him_ ," Albus says with a hard look in his eyes. "And I know what he's capable of."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, seeing Ron Weasley coming into the story more, and of course all of the moments between Rose and Scorpius. Everything gets a lot more intense from here, so enjoy the bits of fluff while it lasts! As always, reviews are much appreciated and a huge, huge, thank you to all my marvellous beta readers. You guys are the best!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 _why does it hurt to try when the last goodbye is never what we're here for_

 _._

The door slams behind me, stopping my hurry. Scorpius looks up at the sound, his expression scrunching into worry. His glass is still as full as when I left.

I take my time finding my chair again, watching the ground as I go. Albus's words are flying around my head, and no matter how many optimistic and trusting thoughts I throw back at them, they won't go away.

"Sorry about that," I mutter as I take my seat and force myself to look up at him. Scorpius is staring at me, no longer hunched over to look at the ground. As usual, his expression is unreadable but directed towards me. If we were alone, I would have done what I normally do when he gives me those intense looks and ask him what he's thinking, but that isn't an option here. He probably wouldn't tell me even if I asked.

I realise I am wasting precious minutes in silence, but my head is too loud to think about where I left off. Had I said anything of importance yet? Probably not. Walking the Aurors through chronologically isn't the most efficient plan since I learned very little until recently, but it gives Scorpius time to drink the Veritaserum. If he tells his secrets, I won't be breaking any promises.

"Okay," I say, clearing my mind enough to keep going. "At the beginning of our seventh year, Scorpius gave Albus a letter that he later asked me to destroy." As I speak, the retelling becomes easier. "Scorpius told me that he was being watched at Hogwarts, by Nott and Zabini, I assumed. Possibly even Worthington as well." There it is again, the twitch of a grimace on Scorpius's face. I always had my doubts about him and Worthington, never having any proof that they were romantic at all, but those doubts are starting to disappear. I ignore the painful twinge of jealousy that causes me. "By the end of the year, Scorpius explained to me that whoever Nott and Zabini were working for wanted to use him to get to me. That was the reason for our… lack of correspondence over the previous summer." I chose my words carefully, not wanting to use anything like "break-up" or "relationship" that would only deepen Grayson's worry about my loyalty to Scorpius.

Then I realise which part of the story I've come to. A blush creeps up my neck as I remember that night in the Prefect's common room. I push away most of the memory, focusing on the parts that the Aurors need to know. "Scorpius decided that I was in an equal amount of danger whether we were… friends or not. It was then that our, um…" —there is no way around saying it—"…when our romantic relationship resumed."

I glance at the door, expecting someone to burst in, a common enough occurrence, but the door remains shut and silent. When I look back up, Scorpius is leaning forward, a new interest in his face. I can't imagine why until I start speaking again. "We dated for two months," I say, then stop, looking back at Scorpius's expectant face.

I never told Scorpius why I broke off our relationship in the middle of summer. It might be the only secret I've kept from him, and now I understand why he is so eager to hear the rest of the story.

The minutes go by in silence as I stare at the floor while Scorpius stares at me. I hope for an interruption. After his speech of how no one could ever push him far enough to hurt me, I had left him because I was not strong enough to make that same promise. With the situation reversed, I did not trust myself not to be the reason he got hurt.

"For Merlin's sake, Rose," Scorpius says, snatching my attention away from my hands and back to him. I take a moment to realise the words were his. _Scorpius spoke._ A selfish part of me wishes he hadn't chosen now to do it, though. He keeps his gaze on me steady. "Go on."

~OoOoO~

The summer started out so well. By the end of June, I had a job with Luna and Rolf Scamander at their creature sanctuary, a flat to share with Isa only two streets away from the Leaky Cauldron, an Auror-in-training for a boyfriend, and endless unsupervised time to spend with him.

Well, not exactly endless, but much more than we ever had at Hogwarts. While our schedules kept us rather busy all day, we managed to keep ourselves awake through dinner and sometimes a few hours later.

This time around, our relationship stayed out of the magazines and papers. We weren't exactly keeping it a secret, but neither of us was keen on announcing it to the world either. It just so happened that we worked long hours and didn't have the energy to leave our flats most nights. And not having to tell our parents where we went when we left home meant that they were kept in the dark too.

The only people who knew about our rekindled romance were Isa and Albus. Isa, who hardly spent any time in our flat anyways, never made any comments on the situation, but Albus became quite vocal on the subject.

"You sound like a jealous ex-girlfriend," I said while the three of us finished our dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. Scorpius was handing me my jacket for our walk through the unusually chilly night air and shaking his head at Albus's grumbles. "It's not my fault I've got work in the morning."

"But _we_ don't." Albus gestured between himself and Scorpius. "It's not like the two you of you call it a night when _I've_ got an early morning."

"Actually, we usually do," I said with a wink, giggling as Albus rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the pink that graced his cheeks. I swatted at him and put on my best offended face. "Because the two of you are on the same schedule, you tosser."

"Oi, no calling me a tosser when you give a wink after saying something like that," Albus said, holding his arms out to block my swatting hand.

Scorpius carried on with putting on his jacket and ignored us cousins. He gave me a raised-eyebrow, _ready-to-go?_ look. "Are you done whining then?" I asked Albus, getting in one last smack to the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Good." I ruffled his perpetually messy hair before stepping towards Scorpius. "Because I'm leaving. I'm sure I'll see you both tomorrow."

Albus's face light up at the same time Scorpius's darkened. Before he could protest, I put a hand on his arm. "I think I can walk myself home just fine. Have another drink and I'll see you later."

"I can walk you home and come back," he said."

"No, thank you," Albus said, standing from the table and grabbing his own jacket. "I don't want to wait the hour it takes you two to say goodnight."

"Oh, Albus, sit down." I shot him a glare that had his bottom hitting the chair immediately. I turned back to Scorpius. "It's a five-minute walk. I think I can make it on my own."

Scorpius took my hand in a firm grip that was not willing to let me escape. "Or you can Apparate from here."

"To my Muggle flat building? Brilliant idea," I said, yanking my hand out of his. "I'll be fine walking, thanks."

"Rose—"

" _Scorpius_."

Albus looked between the two of us like a child watching his parents fight.

Scorpius and I stood in front of each other for a silent moment, both of us only half-glaring. "I'll be fine," I said again, stepping forward to take his hands and reach up on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

"Let me know when you get home," he said before my heels touched the ground.

I stared up at him with an incredulous look. "When did you become such a worrier?"

Scorpius kept quiet, his gaze shifting down to the ground. Now was not the time to push, but I realised the answer had something to do with his big secret. I let it go, kicking Albus's chair to tell him goodnight again then pulling Scorpius into a forgiving hug. He kissed my forehead before letting go.

I tried not to be bothered by Scorpius's worries, but I made the short trek back to my flat in under three minutes, not realising how fast my heart was pounding until I shut my door. I even thought about giving into Scorpius's paranoia and sending Collette to the Leaky Cauldron with a note saying I'd arrived home safe but brushed that idea aside a moment later. There was no way I was going to reward Scorpius's overprotectiveness, something I was putting on my mental checklist to break him of. I already had a father who checked on me weekly, an improvement from the daily visits the first week I had moved out. The last thing I needed was to deal with that from my boyfriend too.

Scorpius knocked at my door half an hour later, much sooner than I was expecting. I tried to scold him, but the sweet nothings he threw back at me were too sincere to fight off.

Despite Albus's occasional complaints, Scorpius and I fell into a familiar routine until the middle of July when his grandparents invited him to tea at their cottage. Apparently, it wasn't an unusual affair, and I thought nothing of it until he asked me to go with him. I immediately started dreading it.

Meeting Scorpius's parents had been a large enough deal, but Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were old fashioned Purebloods. I had no idea how I should act around them. When I asked Scorpius if I should wear the robes his mother had made for him, he laughed.

"Those are much too formal for afternoon tea," he said as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.

"So what exactly _do_ I wear?" I asked, gesturing to the rest of my closet that was practically empty compared to some of my cousins' wardrobes.

"Where are your dresses?"

I pulled out the only three dresses that I owned: a strappy pink garment that I wore to Teddy and Victoire's wedding that Victoire had picked out and that Lily had helped me into, my white bridesmaid dress from Roxanne and Lex's wedding in May that Scorpius agreed looked like an enlarged t-shirt with a few frills, and my go-to green dress that Grandma Weasley had made for me. It was faded and patched, but it was one of those rare pieces that were as comfortable as it was flattering. In the end, we both agreed I needed to either do some shopping or some borrowing.

I raided Molly and Dominique's closets, the latter of which was still in Romania but had left most of her nice clothes at her flat in London. As much as I loved everything I found, I couldn't find anything that I thought would please the Malfoys. Luckily, Molly's girlfriend Sophie had moved in soon after Dominique left and let me borrow one of hers that fit the occasion perfectly. The dress was a vibrant blue, much brighter than anything I'd wear normally, but the cut was robe-like enough with its loose-fitting long sleeves and high-low shirt that it didn't scream muggle-made.

Two days later, clad in Sophie's dress and a pair of Molly's suede boots, I clung to Scorpius's arm as he Apparated us to Malfoy Cottage. We appeared on a long gravel path similar to the one leading to the Manor except that it led a to a simple white fence instead of wrought iron bars. The heels of my shoes slipped against the rocky ground, and I kept a hand on Scorpius's arm to steady myself. Heels seemed like a good idea on the flat floor at home, but as I looked down the driveway at the horrid terrain ahead, I regretted the decision immediately.

The fence was similar to the one around my parents' property, and we passed through it as if it weren't even there. Scorpius breathed out a sigh of relief. "I was worried the fence would stop you," he said when I gave him a curious look.

"Why would it do that?" I asked, glancing back at the wooden posts. I figured they acted as a similar security measure as the ones at the farmhouse, keeping out any unwanted company, but Scorpius's grandparents were expecting me, right?

He shrugged and tugged me along before I could ask any more questions.

I couldn't help but gape at the front garden as we passed through, all of the dazzling white flowers and marble fountains. And was that a peacock? I had thought the gardens at the manor were elaborate, but despite being half the size, the cottage's were much more impressive. Plus it had peacocks! I wondered if this was what the Manor's gardens had once looked like before Scorpius's parents moved in. Scorpius didn't seem to notice any of the scenery, walking straight to the door which opened at our approach.

"There you are," his grandmother said with a tight smile as we entered the drawing room. She stood from the white leather sofa, and I couldn't stop looking at her and seeing all of the similarities she shared with her sister, Andromeda. It was easy to forget that they were related until one of them came into view. It was easier to note their differences such as Narcissa's hair being practically white while Andromeda's was a greying brown or Andromeda's shadowy brown eyes compared to Narcissa's clear blue ones. Andromeda looks much more like her late sister, Bellatrix, but it was hard to remember that when comparing Andromeda to Narcissa. Besides their colourings, the two of them had nearly identical faces.

I hesitated as Narcissa approached me to introduce herself. I couldn't help but notice the way her lips pursed as I offered her my hand as if something rancid smelling had been put beneath her nose.

Lucius was waiting for us on the garden patio, which of course was made of stone. The uneven surface caused me to wobble to the iron table. Scorpius's grandfather eyed me with clear distaste, though he stood to greet me. I had learned my lesson from extending a hand to Narcissa and kept my hands at my sides.

"How do you take your tea, dear," Narcissa asked, her wand pointed at the steaming teapot in the centre of the table. It rose to pour the dark tea into the cup in front of me.

"Just a pinch of sugar and milk… please," I added, not sure if it was appropriate to say or not. Narcissa hardly glanced my way as she swished her wand and a silver pitcher poured a rather generous amount of milk into my cup before a cube of sugar splashed in as well. I reached for the spoon beside the tiny plate that my cup sat on, then waited, watching Scorpius out of the corner of my eye. His eyes met mine, an amused crinkle to them, as he picked up his own spoon to stir. I copied him exactly, shooting a glare at his amused expression.

"Scorpius tells us you work with the Scamanders," Narcissa said, placing her wand on the table after serving everyone their tea. "What exactly do you do there?"

"I only started a few weeks ago," I explained, "so I'm not involved in much more than taking care of the creatures right now."

"Ah," Narcissa said with a disdainful look that meant she knew that 'taking care' was a nicer way of saying that I cleaned enclosures, prepared meals, and other dirty tasks that required little skill or self-respect.

"But the sanctuary does much more than just keep the creatures," I rushed to say. Not many people understood the importance of the sanctuary, and normally I wouldn't care if someone thought my job was useless, but I wanted to impress Scorpius's grandparents. Most likely because I knew deep down that there was nothing I could do to make them like me, making the challenge all the more enticing. "We take creatures from the black market that can't be released into the wild and give them a place to live, sure, but we also work with injured creatures that can be released as soon as they're better. I've been learning more and more about injuries and diseases and their treatments."

Narcissa gave a curt nod that expressed that she understood but still didn't see the point. "It sounds a lot like Healing."

"Yes, sort of," I said, about to go on but stopped when I saw a brief look of satisfaction on the older witch's face. Apparently, being an almost-Healer was respectable enough. I would take it.

Luckily, Scorpius took over the conversation, asking about people whose names I didn't recognise. I could tell by the way Narcissa talked about them that they were friends or acquaintances of hers, none of which she seemed to have a high opinion of. According to her, all of their children and grandchildren were horrid, unrespectable people that made her grateful for her own family.

Not having a lot of input to the conversation, my attention drifted to the plate of biscuits next to the teapot. They looked and smelt amazing, but I restrained myself, not wanting to be the first to take one. By the time our tea cups were halfway empty, though, it was clear no one else would. I silently lamented the lost delicacy, but then my attention went to Lucius Malfoy.

Scorpius's grandfather watched over the conversation between his wife and grandson with stone grey eyes, but he did not involve himself in their talk. In fact, he hadn't spoken since greeting me with a cool, "Pleasure to meet you." His eyes flickered between Scorpius and Narcissa, and it wasn't until our teas were gone that they settled on me with detached dislike as if I were a worm in his garden—necessary but preferred out of sight.

"Rose," Narcissa said, forcing me to pay attention to what was going on instead of forcing myself to stay quiet, "would you accompany me to the kitchen?" She raised her wand so that all of the dishes piled themselves neatly on the silver platter in the centre of the table. I nodded before glancing at Scorpius, hoping for some kind of hint as to why I was being invited into the kitchen. He flashed a quick encouraging smile, which calmed my nerves. Apparently inviting the guest to help clean up wasn't against the norm.

I followed behind Narcissa as she led the way to the large kitchen just inside the doorway. A small square window above the sink looked over the back garden. It framed the view perfectly: the bushes and trees spotted with little white flowers were spaced evenly and a marbles structure—the Malfoy's version of a shed—could be seen in the corner.

"You have a lovely home," I said as the older witch sent the dishes to be self-cleaned in the sink and the untouched hors d'oeuvres vanished.

Narcissa did not answer and tucked her wand away when all the objects were finished obeying her. "One never gets use to living without a House Elf," she said.

My eyes widened behind her back, not expecting that topic of conversation at all. I made some noise that I hoped did not sound as uncomfortable as I felt but also did not sound agreeing.

"I would pay the S.P.E.W. wage to have one again," she continued as if I hadn't made any sound, "but Lucius refuses. A Malfoy never goes against his principles."

I nodded even though Narcissa couldn't see me, but I didn't trust myself to say anything. My thoughts were so scattered I couldn't have predicted what would come out if I tried to speak. My silence didn't seem to bother her, though, as she turned around and spoke again. "It is one of many reasons my husband is not taken with you."

I clenched my jaw in order to stop it from dropping open. I really didn't trust my words now.

"The feud between Weasleys and Malfoys goes back many, many generations," Narcissa said, brushing past me. I felt momentarily relieved, thinking we were going back to the patio, but Narcissa stopped in front of a portrait of a sleeping wizard dressed in medieval ruffles. "It started long before Draco, and long before his father and before his father's father. There are some traditions that are impossible to overcome."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, unable to hold my tongue any longer. I already had a guess that this conversation was leading to Scorpius's grandmother telling me that our relationship was doomed to fail, so I wanted to get her to that point quick while I still had control over my temper.

Narcissa turned to me, a rawness in her face that hadn't been there all afternoon. There were wrinkles around her eyes and mouth that I hadn't noticed before, and her gleaming white hair looked dull and frail. "You and I have found ourselves in similar positions," she said, measuring out each word. "Lucius is walking down a dark path I cannot follow."

My heart raced as I realised I had somehow stumbled closer to a clear answer than I had in over a year. "With the same people Scorpius is involved with?"

Narcissa did not answer, but the look of wariness answered for her. "You are a bright witch, Ms Weasley," she said, her switching to my surname not going unnoticed. "I assume you have surmised that Scorpius is not acting of his own accord?"

"Yes," I said, holding back from saying more. It was clear that Narcissa knew what she wanted to say and would say it best if I gave her the simple answers she was looking for.

"And that he discontinued your relationship last year because those controlling him wanted to exploit his connection to you?"

I flinched at her words, not picturing anything pleasant when I thought of Scorpius being controlled. "Yes."

"But he has renewed that relationship?"

I had not realised her last words were a question until I saw her expectant look. "Yes," I said, pausing for Narcissa to continue. When she did not, I went on as cautiously as I could. "He would never betray me to them, so there's no reason for us _not_ to be together."

"I disagree," Narcissa said, that same look of distaste that I noticed when she shook my hand flashing across her face. Anger churned my stomach. "Scorpius is involved only because his parents are under threat," she continued as if this were a natural turn in the conversation. "And the only reason they are still alive is because he is with you."

I took a step back, the words conflicting with everything that I knew about Scorpius. He disliked these dark people, maybe even feared them, but he would never do what they wanted. That could not be the only reason we were together.

A satisfied look settled on Narcissa's face now that she had gotten a reaction from me. "But they will grow impatient when he does not deliver you to them." Her words settled some of my doubts, but my heart was still pounding in my ears. "He has, effectively, chosen you over his own parents."

My throat tightened, and I suddenly had trouble breathing. "I never asked that of him."

"Of course not."

Her calm expression only made me more aware of my shaking body. "What do you want from me?" I choked out.

"All I want," she said, "is the safety of my family."

"And because you think Scorpius chose me over your son, I'm a problem?"

Narcissa's hard face flickered to something softer for only a moment. "I am merely asking you to think. Scorpius would never betray you willingly, but there are many ways for him to be forced to help them. You don't fear him hurting you, but perhaps you should fear you being the reason they hurt him."

My shivering body stilled, all of the pieces fitting together. Why else would these people have put up with Scorpius's incompetence this long? If his tasks—if that letter—had been so important, they would have killed his parents already. That had not been the point. The point had been to make Scorpius feel confident ignoring their requests and disobeying their commands. That was the only way he would consider our relationship a safe risk. They never expected Scorpius to turn on me. He was the bait to capture me and, I assumed, the rest of my family after.

I stared at Narcissa with wide eyes, and she nodded, her job complete. She turned towards the doors of the patio, her face composed and pleasant again, but I stopped her. "Will it ever be safe for us to be together?"

With that fake smile still on her face, she said, "You probably know more about this situation than I do. I would trust your instincts before my own. Now, put on a smile. I promised Scorpius that I wouldn't upset you."

I wanted to bite out a comment that after all of this, the last thing I was worried about was whether Scorpius was happy with his grandmother or not, but then the patio door opened. Scorpius and his grandfather walked in silently, but Scorpius put on a polite smile as he thanked Narcissa for tea and gave her a quick hug. The rest of their words were lost to me, all of my concentration on not bursting into tears or nervous vomiting at the sight of Scorpius. If my face showed any discomfort, all three Malfoys ignored it.

We made it out to the front garden and started down the blasted gravel drive again. A few paces down the path, after a handful of nearly twisted ankles, I grumbled, "Are your grandparents looking?"

Scorpius looked a bit surprised at the bit in my tone but looked back at the cottage anyhow. Even before he shook his head, I plopped myself on the grass and tugged off Molly's boots, tossing them down the driveway.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked, summoning the boots into his hands.

I sat on the ground, glad to be rid of one discomfort in my life. It did little to make me feel better. "Not feeling well," I said.

Scorpius reached a hand down to me, and I hoisted myself up. "My grandparents can a bit unagreeable," he said as I took a step on the gravel with my bare feet and grimaced. Before I could take a second step, Scorpius scooped me into his arms. "Once you get home, I guarantee you will be feeling better."

He was trying to lighten the mood, and any other day being carried in his arms while he muttered slights against his grandparents would have a wide grin on my face. That day, nothing penetrated the dark cloud around me. "I can walk," I said but made no move to fight him off.

Scorpius simply said, "I know," and let me stew in silence.

"I'm sorry," I said after a while, not knowing if I meant for being so awkward around his grandparents or for making him carry me across the gravel or for being the reason he was going to get hurt. To be honest, it was mostly the latter.

"No apologies," he said, kissing the top of my head. My chest felt suffocated again.

Once we Apparated back to my flat, I excused myself to my room, playing off the made-up sickness that Scorpius assumed was the reason for my sour mood. Always the gentleman, Scorpius helped me into a pair of pyjamas, tucked me under the duvet, and let himself out.

Despite all my best efforts to sleep and ignore the decision in front of me, Narcissa's words knocked around my brain, keeping me awake. The sunlight streaming through my window wasn't helping matters. I didn't know how to go about the rest of my day with these thoughts looming over me, so I searched through the potions cabinet in the kitchen until I found a Calming Draught. I chugged down a generous amount of the purple liquid, and the effects hit me right away.

My bedroom seemed much too far away to make the effort of walking worth it. Instead, I curled up on the sofa, a lazy smile on my face as sleep drowned me.

At work the next day, my supervisor, Ellie Simmons, commented on my exceptionally good work. I brushed off the compliment, not wanting to tell Ellie that the reason for my efficiency was because I couldn't let my mind wander away from the task at hand. Each time it did, I felt as if my stomach had flipped upside down and knocked my heart into the back of my throat. The cloudy day had everyone else milling about in slow motion, but I ran out of things to do by lunch. Ellie sent me to the hospital, a reward that would normally have me skipping with happiness, but when Luna happened to pass me on my way, she took one look at my lost face and sent me home.

She meant well, and maybe she knew better than me, but as soon as I entered my flat, I felt like a mad woman. Scorpius and I had plans to eat dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, which left me with five hours to worry about what I would say to him that night.

When the time came, my entire flat—including Isa's cluttered room—was sparkling clean, my closet organised by colour and occasion, and three new phials in my potions cabinet. I wore my patchy green dress, not remembering why I put it on but appreciating the comfort. I tied my coat closed and walked down the steps of my building, only pausing when I exited the main door and faced a wall of pouring rain.

My options were listed off in my brain: going back to my flat and Apparating, going back to my flat and grabbing an umbrella, or going back to my flat and never coming out. Since the latter seemed the most likely if I did go back to my flat, I decided to flip up my hood and trudge through the storm.

Scorpius stood outside the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, a lone shadow in the rain. Besides the few cars and buses driving by, we were alone.

"How are you feeling today?" Scorpius asked, opening the door to the pub as I approached. His coat must have been enchanted to keep him dry because there was not a single drop of rain on his coat and his hair was still brushed back perfectly. His face grew concerned when he saw my soaked appearance. "You are never going to feel better travelling like that."

I stood silent. An entire minute passed with Scorpius holding open the door, his expression scrunching more and more into confusion as I stayed put, not saying a word. Slowly, he closed the door and took a step towards me.

"Rose-"

"I can't do this," I said, the words surprising both of us. I regretted wasting my entire day not thinking about this moment instead of practising my words. If I told him everything that Narcissa had said and all of the connections I had made, he would talk me out of this. He would tell me another vague half-truth to keep me satisfied, but I didn't want that. I let that old anger and resentment at being kept in the dark guide my words.

"I thought I could do this," I continued, unable to look at him, "but I can't. We've been pretending that everything is fine for too long, Scorpius. We ignore everything that's happened and all the secrets, and I can't do it anymore."

Scorpius's silence drew my gaze upwards, his face unrecognisable. I had not seen so little expression on his face in so long, I had forgotten how sharp and neutral his features could be. He stared at me, not blinking, and I knew behind the unmoving mask that his thoughts were racing. Right before I spoke again, he said, "Okay."

The single word cut into my heart, stopping its hammering beats. "Okay?" I asked, my voice breathless. "That's all you have to say?"

Scorpius shrugged, not a hint of any sadness in his eyes. "We both knew what we were agreeing to when he started this."

"And what was that?"

He spoke quietly, just loud enough to be heard over the pounding rain if I strained to hear. "That our relationship would be built on secrets and excuses."

My lips curled, resentment building up. Each word hit me like a curse, sending me into defence. How could he boil down all we've been through to excuses and secrets? "And lies," I said, glaring at him with all the anger I had.

We held each other's gaze for a few seconds more, then he turned and walked away.

If my tongue had not been glued to the top of my mouth to hold back my tears, I would have called after him. I would have shouted that I didn't want to do this, that this was all to protect him, that I still loved him and always would. I would have begged for one last kiss.

Instead, all I had left were the memories of the last two blissful months, and they already seemed to be fading.

~OoOoO~

"We had tea with Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy," I say, forcing myself not to look away from Scorpius. "Near the end of our visit, Narcissa and I had a private conversation. She informed me that Scorpius's parents were being threatened in order to get Scorpius and Lucius to cooperate with them."

I pause, not waiting for anything in particular but maybe hoping for the door to open or for Scorpius to say something. Any kind of interruption will be appreciated. All I get is Scorpius nodding at me to continue. I take a long drink of water, draining my glass before I continue. "She also brought to my attention that Scorpius could be used against me in the same way his parents were being used against him." Scorpius's expression darkens, his grey eyes nearly black beneath his narrowed eyelids. "They could use him to get to me. She advised me to break off our relationship for his protection."

Scorpius shakes his head back and forth, lips pursed. Anger sparks up in me, anger that he doesn't seem to understand how hard that decision had been, how horrible I felt for months afterwards. And all he can do is shake his head like he disagrees?

"What?" I snap, hoping my sharp tone will jar him. "If you have an opinion, share it."

Something in my voice must show how angry I really am because he steadies his gaze forward again, his brows low over his eyes. "My grandmother was right," he says, knocking away some of my anger and replacing it with guilt. Had he been hurt? Because of me? "The idea of being bait for you never even occurred to me."

"You're a bit too egotistical to think you could ever be the victim," I say bitterly. Of course, he's still not thinking about himself at all. He's still only concerned that he could have been the reason I got hurt and not focusing on the part that troubles me: that he would get hurt because of me too.

His gaze ducks down to his hands, which grip the end of the table with white knuckles. "If you had stayed with Peakes…"

"You are not bringing Ashton into this," I shout, standing up and letting my chair clatter to the ground. "None of that matters."

"It does," Scorpius says in a calm quiet voice. "If you had listened to my grandmother and forgotten about me, you could have had a happy life with him."

"And trust you to figure this out all on your own? Because that has been going wonderfully so far."

Scorpius flinches, a real reaction. I can't help but feel accomplished by it. "I would have-"

"Figured it out? I know," I say. "Whatever plan you have isn't working. Maybe what you should've done is run away to France or Italy, taken Worthington with you. Then the two of you could have had a happily ever after of your own."

All the anger and betrayal I felt seeing the two of them together comes rushing back. The pained look Scorpius gives me only ignites that resentment more until I feel tears pricking my eyes. I don't trust myself to say anything more.

Scorpius does not return his expression to a calm mask, a desperate look taking over instead. "She died."

There is suddenly no air in the room. "What?"

"She was as involved as Jasper and Caroline until a few months ago. She wanted out, so she ran. She went back home, gave up magic, tried to live as a Muggle. Then they killed her." A glare of hatred flashes across Scorpius's face before it falls back into the same pained expression.

I reach behind me for my chair, forgetting that I knocked it over, but I have to sit down. Or do something. Anything.

It had been bad enough when Molly was the only one dead, but Worthington too? I barely knew her, only seeing her in class or occasionally at the library. She seemed sweet and cheerful. The only grudge I ever held against her was her gaining Scorpius's attention when I had lost it. Throughout seventh year, I ignored her, gossiped about her, sent killer glares towards her from across the Great Hall.

Now I would never have the chance to apologise. That chance was gone before I even knew I wanted it, and still, I didn't know why she had been killed or by whom.

I am through being kept away from those answers.

* * *

 **Author's** **Note** : Wow! We're about halfway through this story, so I wanted to thank everyone who has followed, reviewed, and favourited this story. Already at 25 favourites and 50 followers! Cannot explain how happy that makes me! :) The next couple of chapters will be a bit more intesnse, but don't worry, for those of you who may not be too fond of this break-up, I promise the romance will return soon. As always, a big thank you to my wonderful betas and I promise to have the next chapter out as soon as I can!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 _i've been lying and i don't know why i do_

 _._

The door taps against the wall as it opens. Not wanting my upturned chair to give whoever it is more reason to remove me from the interrogation room, I grab my wand out of my coat pocket and charm the chair upright again. Turning around, though, I realise it's only Auror Bones.

"Is everything all right in here?" she asks, approaching the table as I retake my seat. Before I can answer, she stops short of the table. "Oh, are you still bound?" With a flick of her wand, the binds around Scorpius's wrists are released, but he is not elated by the freedom at all. Instead, his cool demeanour cracks, clear worry in his face. His head shakes so slightly it's nearly unnoticeable. My suspicions seem to be confirmed: whatever plan he had, I've ruined it.

Auror Bones puts a hand on my shoulder, giving a small squeeze as she continues. "I was sent to tell you that you've only got about twenty minutes left."

She turns to leave when Scorpius says, "Wait." Auror Bones whirls around, obviously not used to hearing Scorpius's voice. He stares down at his unbound hands, trying to comprehend what is happening with little success. His confusion is even more clear as he asks, "What?" Just one word. I can't remember the last time Scorpius ever asked or said anything with only one word. He focuses on Auror Bones with a look of… apprehension? Surprise? Fear?

His eyes dart to me. Fear, definitely fear.

"You've been given an alibi," Auror Bones explains, a mischievous glint in her eye. I doubt that Grayson would want Scorpius knowing he's a free man—being an Auror, he would know that gave him the freedom to walk out at anytime—so why is she telling him now? Unless Albus told them our suspicions and they think that threatening to kick him out of the Ministry will scare him into talking…

If that is the plan, it works. Auror Bones leaves a moment after giving us each an encouraging smile, and Scorpius's sharp gaze goes right to me. "You told them?"

"I had to," I say, hating the pleading in my voice. Merlin, why do I need his approval so badly? "You could've been sent away to Azkaban, and I wasn't going to sit around and watch that happen, even if it is what you want."

Scorpius's jaw clenches. "I had hoped you would refrain from figuring that out."

"Refrain? You mean deny it to myself, to think that only a mad person would think Azkaban is a good idea for a safe house? Well sorry, but I know exactly how insane and stubborn you are when it comes to your plans, and this plan _failed_." I slam my hands on the table, nearly toppling it over. Scorpius jumps slightly, his face paling as I stand and lean across the table. "Whatever elaborate scheme you thought you could pull off by yourself didn't work. You need help, Scorpius, and I don't care that you prefer to solve all your problems on your own. You can't do this alone. And if you leave here by yourself, we both know what kind of danger you'll be in, and I won't lose you too!"

I fall back into my chair, exhausted by the outburst. The sounds of shouting echo in the room, or maybe it's only my mind filling up the silence that has fallen. I can't look at Scorpius. I can barely move at all. I can't even cry.

With my heaving shoulders and ragged breath, it must look like I'm sobbing when all I am doing is counting my breaths. Then I see something white in front of me on the table and look up to find Scorpius reaching across the table to hand me a handkerchief.

I snatch the cloth from his hand even though I don't need it. It's something to hold on to, something still warm from being nestled in his pocket, something that I can take from him like he is trying to take himself from me.

"If you leave here, they'll kill you," I say, not realising how true is until I say it and watch Scorpius nod once. It's only then that the tears gather in the corners of my eyes. "Is that really better than telling us—telling the Aurors—what is going on?"

"Better than having my parents killed," he says, his quiet voice emphasising his dry throat. "Better me than them. Better me than you."

My hands shake as I grip his handkerchief tighter. "Weren't you the one who lectured me on how illogical self-sacrifices are?" The bitterness in my voice catches Scorpius's attention, forcing some guiltiness to appear on his face, but he says nothing more.

What else can I say? I'm filled with the same feeling I get at the end of every chess game I've ever played with my dad: at a certain point, I'm out of moves. I know it. He knows it. There's no point in continuing.

But I do continue—every time—because there is always a chance that luck will find me and give me one last desperate manoeuvre. Maybe I don't have any Felix Felicis, but I do have another potion that could work in my favour.

"That's Veritaserum," I say, motioning towards the glass of water in front of him. I can only imagine the enraged voice Grayson must be sporting right now as she questions my sanity. Honestly, I'm questioning it too. As soon as I thought about the potion, the words were out of my mouth.

I don't expect Scorpius to have much of a reaction. He nods as though he's suspected that all along, but then picks up the glass, stares straight at me, and drains the entire cup.

~OoOoO~

"Thought I might find you here." I jumped at the voice, whirling around only to be grabbed around the waist and spun in circles.

"Ashton!" I shrieked, my hands grabbing at his arms at the same time I fling my head back in loud laughter. By the time he set me down again, I was so dizzy that I had to hold on to his arm in order not to fall over. He grinned down at me, still chuckling. I pushed against his chest with nowhere near enough strength to move him. "You aren't supposed to be down here."

"Why, too dangerous? Might get eaten?" he teased, pulling me closer so his nose brushed against my forehead. He mockingly looked left and right, pretending to survey the scene. "The only rare creature that might be dangerous I see is right here." His impeccably white teeth gleamed down at me in another wide smile.

I tried to contain my own smile but felt my mouth pulling up into one anyways. He pecked my lips, setting my cheeks aflame. We had been dating for three months and in a transition from a one-time fling after one of his winning Quidditch games to an almost serious long-term relationship. The whole thing still scared me as much as it thrilled me.

So far, the year 2025 seemed like my year. After taking several months to pull myself together after splitting up from Scorpius, I had gained a job promotion and a professional Quidditch playing boyfriend. My days were spent learning new creature healing techniques, hunting down Isa when she disappeared on a reporting trail, and going to every Puddlemere United Quidditch game. The last six months were nothing like I expected, but I had never been happier.

"Last time I checked," I said, pulling away from Ashton, "you weren't an Auror or a magizoologist. You're going to get kicked out of France."

Ashton laughed. "I'd like to see them try."

I shook my head at him, glancing to my right to see Albus heading towards us. "See," I said, nodding towards him. "My cousin is coming now to lock you in the dungeons for breaking security."

"I can take him," Ashton said, pulling himself to his full height which, I had to admit, made Albus look like a House Elf in comparison. Then, he leant over to whisper in my ear, "Though I would go quietly if you promised to visit me." His wink made my ears burn red, and I pushed him away as Albus approached.

With sheepish eyes, Albus looked between the two of us, obviously nervous at having to be the authority that told off the famous Puddlemere United Keeper who he was nearly a foot shorter than. "I already scolded him," I said before Albus could speak, and his expression relaxed. "He's gone, I promise." I tried to shove Ashton towards the stands, which was about as successful as trying to move a mountain.

He stepped forward and reached a hand out to Albus. "How've you been, mate?"

"Quite relaxed actually," Albus said, shaking Ashton's hand despite the weary grimace that crossed his face when Ashton didn't leave. "Being at Beauxbatons has been like a holiday."

"I can imagine. This place is better than Hogwarts."

Albus nodded, showing no signs of telling Ashton to get a move on. "All right, all right," I said, interrupting their conversation and helping Albus out of that uncomfortable situation. "You are going to be fired," I said to Albus but gave a pointed look at Ashton.

"His dad wouldn't fire his own son," Ashton said with a wave of his hand.

"That is called nepotism," I said, placing both of my hands on Ashton's chest, trying to force him back towards the public stands with little success, "and is illegal."

"So that means you haven't given your brother some sort of advantage?" Ashton asked with a wink, grinning down at my efforts to move him.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "For your information, I haven't been allowed to help at all with these arrangements. I'm only here as back-up." I doubled my efforts to move him. He took a single step back, probably just to make me feel better.

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going," Ashton said, putting his hands up in surrender. "I'll see you around, mate." He waved a hand to Albus, then looked back down at me. "I'll be in the stands, love," he said before putting both of his large hands on my cheeks and kissing me, a real toe-curling kiss this time. Then he turned and walked back to the low fence of the arena, hopping over it and disappearing into the crowds.

When I turned around again, Albus had an eyebrow raised at me. "What?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn again.

"'Love'?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Like you're one to take the mickey out of someone, _Alby dearest_." I widened my eyes, batted my lashes, and puckered my lips in a poor but semi-accurate impression of Cassie McLaggen, Albus's girlfriend of over two years. She was a Healer at St Mungo's, recently out of training and unable to travel to France at all this year. While I had only arrived for the Third Task, Albus had been at Beauxbatons since September. Each time Cassie and I got together for lunch or a drink, all I heard about was how beautiful French girls were and how Albus would return with one on each arm if she didn't find a way to visit.

Albus gave me a sour look. "Do you not have any morals? Mocking a man about the girlfriend he hasn't seen since Christmas?"

"You poor dear," I said, to which Albus shook his head and turned away, looking off into the distance like he was doing something important rather than ignoring my teasing. "But speaking of…," I added, stepping into his line of sight, "have you found one yet?"

Albus curled his lips as he admitted, "No."

"Really?" I asked with surprise. "The entire reason you took this incredibly boring abroad security job was to find the perfect engagement ring since _nothing in all of Britain_ was good enough."

"That wasn't the only reason," Albus said in a grumbling tone. "And no one knew it was going to be this boring. After all, the last time there was a Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort came back from the dead." I raised an eyebrow at him, both of us knowing that no one except the Auror department—which had insisted on being there for the safety of the Hogwarts students—expected anything like that to happen again. "And," Albus added, "because some of us actually want to see the world."

I scoffed at the pointed statement. "And working as an Auror for the _British_ Ministry of Magic is really going to help you there."

Albus's shoulders sunk at my words, and I cursed myself for my quick tongue. "Yes, well…," he started to say, but as he looked at me, his eyes focused on something over my shoulder a moment too long and his response drifted off.

I turned my head, and my heart leapt up to my tongue when I spotted Scorpius a good ways beyond us. He was making his rounds at the North end of the arena, the giant hedges keeping the centre of the arena hidden while also keeping Scorpius out of view, for the most part. I didn't realise I was staring until Scorpius looked over and our eyes met for a second before I turned my head towards Albus again.

"I knew this would be awkward," Albus muttered under his breath.

"No, it won't," I said, fighting my instincts to look back over my shoulder. "It's been long enough. I'm with Ashton, and he's dating Worthington again, right?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I think they're just friends," Albus said.

"Well that doesn't matter anyways," I said, unable to ignore the flutter of triumph I felt at his words. "There's still no reason for things to be uncomfortable." Against my better judgement, I turned my head again and watched the edge of Scorpius's Auror cloak disappear behind the hedge. When I turned to Albus, he was giving me a look that told me he didn't believe me. "Can we change the subject?" I asked, crossing my arms against the sudden cold chill shivering up my spine.

"To what?"

"I dunno. How about how uninteresting the tasks have been this year? If the Prophet has been reporting right, a trip to the Leaky Cauldron poses more risk then these tasks. What happened to fighting dragons and sea monsters?"

"Considering that someone died in the last tournament, there have been a lot of precautions," Albus said.

"I know, I know." I waved a dismissive hand at him. "But wading through Flobberworms? Opening locked chests in trees? I mean, I'm sure Hugo is enjoying it since I can't understand why he put his name in the Goblet of Fire in the first place, but the other two champions must be bored out of their minds. Forget about the poor audience."

"You expect too much," Albus said, giving me one of those 'Albus' looks that made me feel half my age while he seemed to age twenty years. It reminded my of the pictures I had seen of Albus's namesake Dumbledore. Our parents always talked about the twinkle in the old wizard's eyes, and my cousin seemed to have the same one.

A loud horn blew in the distance, shushing the audience and shooing Albus and me into our places. A soft melody of horns and strings sounded as the champions entered the arena. First was the host's headmistress, Madame Maxime, her long strides carrying her quite a ways in front of her school's champion, Raphael Moreau, a dark-haired boy with a seemingly permanent frown on his face. Next was the Headmaster of Durmstrang, Hampus Magnusson, a squat ever-smiling wizard who accompaniment Elias Vestergaard, a lanky young-looking boy whose cheeks were so red even I could see them. Lastly, Professor Sinistra strolled out, leaning heavily her cane, with Hugo by her side. As usual, my brother seemed to have his mind elsewhere, his eyes turned up towards the sky instead of the cheering crowd.

All of the announcements weren't meant for our ears, so all I could hear was a bit of muffled talking before the Headmaster and mistresses left their students and the hedges sunk back into the ground.

Taking in the scene, it took me all of five seconds to gather what the champions were expected to do. A long expanse of water separated the three boys from the Cup, which sat on a pedestal in plain view. No secret portkeys this time. I thought of all the ways they could simply cross the water with a spell or two, but then I noticed that each of the champions stood bare-handed. No magic? Well, that made it a bit more interesting. That and the large shadow looming in the water.

The champions' three choices were laid out on the field. A hippogriff stood in a small fenced-in area on the other side of the arena from me, a leather harness tethering the creature to the ground; closest to where Albus and I watched was a buzzing box that I knew contained a fair amount of billywigs; and in the water itself swam a large silver ramora. Luna Lovegood herself sat at the edge, her legs dangled in the water, a protective eye on the rare fish. The choices were obvious to me: fly, swim, or hover.

The three champions broke off quickly into directions that surprised me. I expected the tough-looking Moreau to go straight for the hippogriff, but he ran towards the buzzing box instead. _Of course_ , I thought, _no one with his demeanour had any hope of befriending an intelligent creature._ He opened the small circular door to the box and shoved his hand inside. Apparently, he had enough confidence in his sour personally to fight through the giddy effects of the insects' stings and take advantage of the levitation.

Vestergaard dived into the water, disappearing below the surface for a rather long time. I would have worried if he wasn't from Durmstrang, whose students were known for jumping off their travelling ship and swimming in the sea for hours. He seemed like a gentle enough soul to convince the ramora to let him pass. He might even be able to hitch a ride.

Hugo took his time walking towards the hippogriff. Most wizards would have no idea about the proper way to approach one, but Hugo and I had grown up visiting Hagrid and Witherwings until he died of old age a few years ago. Hugo walked up to the hippogriff and bowed like he did this all the time. The hippogriff, who I recognised now as LuLu—the oldest one in our sanctuary that had once been used for entertainment in abusive conditions—bowed back and allowed Hugo to reach for the leather strap around her chest.

A sound like a crack of lightning emanated across the arena, and Hugo collapsed to the ground.

"Hugo!" I shouted, sprinting across the arena. I passed under Moreau, who was floating in the air and laughing hysterically. All my eyes could focus on was my brother, lying in the grass, and LuLu, eyes black with fright, reared up. The hooves of her forelegs were speeding towards Hugo's head, and I was still too far away to do anything but shout his name.

Then a bright light shot from my left and hit LuLu square in the chest. She reeled backwards, hooves slamming into the ground next to Hugo's feet, then she spread her wings and lifted into the air, free from her leather bindings.

The Couter—French Auror—patrolling the east side of the arena reached Hugo first. When Albus and I got there, he informed us that Hugo was still alive. I pushed past him and kneeled next to my brother, checking his pulse myself. For one frightening second, I felt nothing beneath my fingertip, but then the steady thumping came through and steadied my own heart.

The next few minutes blurred as we were surrounded by witches and wizards. Someone took Hugo and carried him into the school. A wizard helped me to my feet and ushered me to follow the small group tending to Hugo. I started to follow, then looked back, seeing Albus rushing towards the water to help Vestergaard climb out. Then I looked to my left, remembering the spell that had saved my brother's life. I had to know who cast it.

My searching eyes found Scorpius, hunched over and breathing heavily from running. He stood up and scanned the chaos, searching for where he was needed most, but his gaze landed on me instead. I could not properly process what my mind was telling me: Scorpius had saved Hugo's life. I felt frozen, then nodded at Scorpius before racing towards the school.

When I reached the Beauxbaton's hospital wing, I was stopped at the door and forced to wait in the corridor. The witch, who I assumed to be a Professor at the school, assured me in broken English that Hugo would be fine, but all I could do was pace the length of the corridor in worry. It seemed like hours later that the bustling outside the windows stopped and the doors to the hospital wing opened.

I ran to Hugo's bed. He laid there, fast asleep, not looking hurt at all except that both of his hands were wrapped in bandages from fingertips to elbows. The Healer attempted to explain what had happened, and I knew enough French to understand that the leather binds had been cursed and Hugo would be okay but that was all.

Knowing Hugo was not permanently injured or in danger of dying, I ventured out to ask those who knew English well what exactly had happened, but no one seemed to know. Frustrated, I returned to the hospital wing and waited for Albus to visit later in the evening. He brought me dinner and, after my rapid-fire questioning, explained that no one understood how a curse could have been placed on the leather harness. All of the magizoologists were baffled, none of the Aurors or Couters had noticed anything strange throughout the entire Tournament, and upon examination of the harness, it now seemed perfectly harmless.

I laid in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling and going over all of the details of the day. Someone must have cursed the harness to be harmful _only_ to Hugo or _only_ when unlatched and _only_ once. It seemed much too complicated, but the simpler explanation was that someone had cursed it right before or after putting it on LuLu, just before the Third Task started. That meant an inside job, which was more terrifying to think about than a complicated curse cast by a very powerful witch or wizard.

"Rose?"

I jumped at the sound of my name, throwing the blankets off of me and rushing to Hugo's bed in a flash. "Are you okay?" I asked through pants.

In the pale moonlight from the windows, I could see Hugo's bewildered face. "I'm fine," he said. "I just wanted to know if you were awake."

"Oh," I said, taking a seat at the end of his bed. "Sorry." He shrugged, not saying anything more. "Do you remember what happened?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered with a sad nod. "Unfortunately. I thought people were supposed to lose their memories when they hit their heads."

"To be fair, I don't think you actually hit your head on anything."

"Feels like," Hugo grumbled, reaching a hand to pat the back of his unruly brown hair. He stopped when he noticed the bandages around his arm. "That's gonna be inconvenient."

I swatted at his legs. "Be grateful you still _have_ both your arms. Things could've been a lot worse."

"Yeah, I suppose." Hugo put his arm down and glanced at the table beside him where a crowd of potions sat.

The worried look on his face concerned me, so I tried distracting him. "Do you remember seeing anything strange about LuLu or her harness?"

"LuLu?" Hugo scoffed. "What kind of name is that for a hippogriff."

"She's an ex-show hippogriff, and don't change the subject."

"Fine, fine," he said, pausing to yawn. "I didn't see anything."

"Nothing?" I asked, pressing him for answers because there was no one left for the Aurors to interrogate. I hated the idea of someone nearly killing my brother, but the only thing worse was that person getting away with it. "You didn't notice anything strange at all? All day?"

"Rose, I woke up this morning, went to breakfast, then went to the arena. A normal day… for the Triwizard Tournament at least. Don't know why you're expecting me to have seen the person casting the curse. You think I would have touched it if I had?"

I looked at the ground guiltily. Hugo may not be the best at revising for exams or completing essays, but he was far from dumb. He managed six N.E.W.T. level courses without hardly ever picking up a book. In a way, he was brighter than me. If he had seen anything strange going on, he wouldn't have let _anyone_ out on that arena.

"You're right, I'm sorry," I said, watching him as he yawned again. "You should be resting." I patted his foot and stood, crawling back into my own bed beside his. The Beauxbaton's staff had been nice enough to let me stay there despite the fit I threw when they tried to usher me out.

My mind was no less settled as I laid in the darkness again, but my nerves had been calmed enough to let exhaustion take over. As I began to drift off, Hugo's voice tugged me back to consciousness. "Rose?"

"I'm still awake," I said, forcing a cheerful teasing into my voice even as I fought to stay awake.

"There was something strange that happened a while ago."

My eyes opened all the way, all thoughts of sleep banished. "What was it?"

"It's probably nothing," Hugo said, and I could hear the unsureness of his voice. "I'm not even sure if I saw right but… I think the Goblet of Fire was tampered with."

"Tampered with?" I asked. "Again?"

"Yeah…" Hugo paused, most likely gathering his thoughts like he often did before embarking on an explanation. "I think someone made sure it picked my name. I wasn't going to even put myself in, you know, but everyone expected me to. It was right before the time limit was up, and I tore a page out of Danielle's journal, wrote my name down, and put it in."

I waited as he went quiet again, still not seeing the significance of him waiting until the last possible second to do something, which was exactly what I would expect of him, or that he used paper from his girlfriend's journal. I said nothing, though, knowing Hugo would make his point in his own time.

"Anyways," he said, "I don't think the paper that came out of the goblet was the same paper that I put in."

He paused again, but this time, I couldn't hold my tongue. "Why's that?"

"You know Danielle, how she colours all of her parchment and ink and quills?" I made an affirming sound that I hoped didn't sound as impatient as I was feeling. "The journal paper I used to put in my name was coloured green. And the parchment that Madame Maxime read my name off of was white."

My stomach felt uneasy. Sure, the detail was little and no one in their right mind would investigate it, but it was something. Unfortunately, that something was even scarier than I had been thinking previously. If Hugo was right, that meant someone had orchestrated this from the start. Someone had meant for Hugo to be in the tournament, knew he would make it to the third task, and knew that he would choose the hippogriff.

"You should tell Uncle Harry," I said after a long pause. Hugo didn't answer, perhaps already asleep, but this new development kept me awake nearly all night.

Mum and Dad arrived the next day, only to turn around and travel back to England an hour after arriving. Hugo was deemed safe enough to return home, but his N.E.W.T. exams were postponed. Apparently, not being able to hold a wand or a quill exempted you from sitting the exams with everyone else. As Hugo's life usually went, he squirmed his way out of a deadline and took his exams when he wanted.

I never found out if he told Uncle Harry about his suspicions concerning the Goblet of Fire, but the investigation went on for a long time with no clues. Uncle Harry refused to let it go cold, but the department did allow the case to drift lower and lower on their priority list, at least according to Albus. Two months passed with nothing.

"How can there be nothing?" I said, pacing across the living room of my flat. Albus sat on the sofa, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. "Hugo is nearly killed, and you lot can't find anything to say who's behind it?"

Albus sighed, running both his hands through his hair. "We've run out of leads, Rose." A tint of frustration coated his words. "No one knows anything more and there's no evidence to be found anywhere between here and France."

"Someone knows something," I said, increasing the speed of my paces.

"If they do, they're doing a fantastic job of keeping it a secret."

I halted my steps as if that last word had frozen me. "A secret." Albus stared at me, waiting for me to look back. "Who do we know who is exceptionally good at keeping secrets?"

Albus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but I held my tongue, wanting him to get there on his own. Then his expression cleared and he shot me a glare. "How can you say that? He's an Auror-"

"In-training."

"And my partner." Albus flung himself back against the sofa cushions and crossed his arms. "Scorpius would never hurt Hugo."

"I'm not saying he did," I said, leaning against the small dining table. "But who's to say he's not still involved in whatever scheme he got into our last year at Hogwarts?"

"And you think that has something to do with what happened to Hugo?"

"I don't know." I threw my hands up in the air. "Maybe? But if anyone is keeping secrets, it's him. I swear that wizard could drink an entire cauldron of Veritaserum and still keep the truth hidden."

The door to Isa's bedroom opened, and my roommate walked out, her dark curls tied in a knot on top of her head and her makeup smeared beneath her eyes like she had just woken up. "Evening," she said with a nod towards Albus as she walked across the room in a pair of lounge pants and a sports bra.

"Evening," Albus said with a small wave. Compared to the first time he experienced Isa's home casual wardrobe, his slightly uncomfortable expression and the tinge of pink on his cheeks was a great improvement.

Isa went to the table beneath the open window and rifled through the pile of letters and magazines there. "Is this today's?" she asked, waving a rolled up copy of the Prophet.

"I'd assume so," I said with a shrug.

Isa unrolled the paper as she retreated back to her room, saying, "Let's see what rubbish the competition is bringing in."

When her door clicked closed, Albus shook his head. "What kind of a job does she have again?"

"Freelance journalism. She mostly writes for Witch Weekly, but she'll give something to the Prophet when she feels like. And they always take it." I explained this hastily, hoping to get back to our conversation.

Albus continued staring at Isa's closed door, though. "That seems like a steady job."

"When you're the only daughter of Caterina Krew, steady income isn't really a concern." My terse voice must have clued Albus in because he turned his attention back to me. As much as I loved Isa, I really didn't want to talk about her mother, captain of the Montrose Magpies who played in three World Cups for three different countries, one advantage, I suppose, of being an Italian immigrant in Britain with paternal German roots.

"Now about Scorpius," I said, but Albus cut me off.

"If he knew anything, he would have told someone in the Auror department by now."

"You think so?" I said, making it clear that I disagreed. "But maybe if I… I dunno, if I tried talking to him…"

"Nothing good can come of that."

"But-"

"Nothing. It's simply a bad idea."

"Okay, okay," I said, slumping against the table. I felt my lips purse into a pout, not having much control over it. As much as I hated not getting my way, I hated the face I made even more. Albus settled into the sofa, perhaps thinking of a way to change the subject, but I wasn't ready to let it go just yet. "Does he still live in that flat in Diagon Alley?"

"Rose." Albus gave me a warning look.

"All right, no more talking about Scorpius." I put my hands up in surrender before taking a seat at the table.

Albus continued to give me a stern stare until he glanced down at his watch and stood. "I should be going. It's getting late."

"Uh-huh," I said, unable to give him much attention as my mind continued thinking about Diagon Alley and the residential village that had been expanding more and more each year. I waited to hear the door close as Albus left—one disadvantage of Anti-Apparition security charms—but instead I heard him say my name.

"Rose," he said with a finger pointed at me. I couldn't help but be reminded of my father. "Don't do anything stupid."

"You know I don't make promises," I shot back, feeling like a petulant child but hating how fatherly Albus was becoming. He was never one to be a rule-breaker or take unnecessary risks, but ever since leaving Hogwarts, he had become even duller.

Albus paused, eyeing me, knowing that I had evaded agreeing to not do anything stupid. He seemed to be thinking of a way to get me to promise to stay out of Hugo's case, but all he said as he headed towards the door was, "Don't go."

I crossed my arm and slouched in my chair, forever the rebellious child. "I'm not going to start stalking him or anything."

He reached the door but turned back to face me, his expression serious and not to be challenged. I felt bad for his unborn children. "Don't go," he repeated, then opened the door and left.

I kicked the table, scraping it across the wood floor. Who the hell was Albus to tell me to do anything? Like he knew the right thing to do now that he was training to be an Auror and following in his dad's footsteps. For a Slytherin, he was more self-righteous than a Gryffindor. Maybe he was spending too much time with Uncle Harry.

Isa's bedroom door squeaked open, and she poked her head through the gap. "So," she said, a glint of mischief in her dark eyes, "when are we going?"

I smiled.

~OoOoO~

The glass thumps against the wooden table as Scorpius sets it down again. I struggle to keep my mouth from falling open in surprise. I had no idea my last desperate move would work so perfectly.

He stares across the table at me as if nothing extraordinary had happened. My eyes narrow at him. "You are such a Ravenclaw," I say. "You don't care about the Veritaserum, you just won't drink something until you know exactly what it is."

Scorpius inclines his head in agreement, a hint of a smirk on his lips. It's a familiar image, one that transports me back to two days ago when I found myself in a similar position. The weight of responsibility settles on me, squashing the bit of humour I had found. Grayson was not lying when she said that Veritaserum is a tricky potion, that questions must be extremely specific in order to get the truth from an intelligent person. Having Scorpius aware that he's under the influence of Veritaserum only makes it that much harder. Luckily, unbeknownst to Grayson and her doubts, I _do_ have experience forming questions in order to get answers from Scorpius. It may have only been two days ago, but I'm a quick learner.

"Okay," I say, straightening in my seat while keeping in mind every lesson of posture my mum passed down to me. "Just to clear away any doubts, did you kill my cousin, Molly Weasley?"

"No," Scorpius says quickly, and by the flash of an alarmed look on his face, I can tell the answer slipped out too easily for his liking.

I curse myself for not using his lack of experience under Veritaserum to my advantage. I should have asked something I didn't know first. He is already preparing for the next question, eyes closed in concentration. The effects of the potion will only last for a few minutes, so I can't waste any time regretting missed opportunities. I charge straight into the next question. "Do you know who did?"

This time, Scorpius pauses a moment before answering. "No."

The surprising answer takes me aback. "No?" I repeat, to which he nods affirmatively. My mind goes momentarily blank at this unexpected reveal. How can he not know who killed Molly? "But you have suspicions, right?"

Again, he restrains himself from answering right away, leaving a second of silence before he says, "Yes, of course."

"So who do you suspect killed her?"

"There are… too many to… name them all," he says, though these words seem to be more difficult for him to say. They come out in rushes and pauses and rushes again. "More people than I know would… want to hurt the Weasley family… and others who would… want to sabotage the campaign of a… Minister candidate for the upcoming election."

I glare at him, having expected that he would evade my questions but still becoming frustrated by it. This would be easier if I had any substantial information, but despite having thought I learned lots two days ago, none of it is helpful now.

"Who cursed my brother?" I ask.

The little colour in Scorpius's face drains away as his lips smash together to prevent his answer from rushing out. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before answering, "Depends on which curse you are referring to-"

"You know which one," I snap, cutting him off, then remember that isn't good enough for the Veritaserum. I force my anger into a simmer in my belly before saying, "During the Triwizard Tournament, who placed the curse on the harness of the hippogriff that nearly attacked my brother?"

His eyes glisten with moisture as he struggles to keep his mouth shut. His jaw trembles and his Adam's apple twitches. Combined with his pale and sweaty face, it looks like he's about to retch. His lips part before I hear the gnashing of his teeth as he forces his mouth closed again. His eyes squeeze shut. The moisture in his eyes escapes through their corners and drift down the side of his face.

I gather all of my Hufflepuff patience, my sympathy at seeing him so tortured helping, but the silence grows and grows. He has to answer, doesn't he? "Come on," I mutter, my own voice catching. "Come on, come on, come on!" I finally yell, hitting the table with the fist still clutching his handkerchief. "Who was it, Scorpius?"

"Me!" he shouts with a gasp, sucking in a breath as all of the air in my lungs disappears. The grip I have on his handkerchief releases. His eyes are wide as he stares at me as if he can't believe what he's just said. "Rose," he says, reaching a shaking hand towards me. "I can explain-"

Before he says anything more, I push myself away from the table and stand. My weak knees cause me to stumble as I hurry towards the door, Scorpius calling for me to stop, to wait, to listen to what more he has to say. But I don't want to hear any more.

I can barely get the door open, falling out into the corridor once I finally get the doorknob turned, and land in Albus's open arms.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well, surprise! This is my fastest consecutive upload and you have my wonderfully speedy beta readers to thank for that. Thank you for all the new reviews and follows and favourites. If you're new to this story, I don't normally update so quickly, but I do update as fast as I can. Also, there were a few comments about Cursed Child in the reviews, so I've added a note to the description of this story stating that this fic is not CC compliant. I've had this story in my head for years, long before CC rumours even started. For anyone who is a diehard canon-fan, I will be writing some CC compliant stories later, but this story is my priority and will be finished as planned. Thanks for all of your support and I hope you stay with me until the end. We've officially hit the half-way mark!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 _sultry disdain in a perfect frame_

.

"This is my fault. This is my fault. This is my fault."

I didn't realise I was saying the words out loud until Albus hugs me closer and says, "None of this is your fault, Rosie."

"I trusted him too much," I say, cutting Albus off before he can say any more false comforting words. "We both know how Scorpius is. He's smart and strategic and sees paths others don't, but he's also egotistical. You and I, we were the ones who kept him grounded. Remember when he tried that elaborate Quidditch strategy our seventh year?"

"When those three fourth years ended up in the hospital wing for a week? Of course," Albus says, his voice showing his confusion.

"We weren't there to tell him it was too complex for his young team," I explain, remembering the devastated look on Scorpius's face when the Chaser/Beater/Keeper trio all crashed into each other and plummeted to the ground. "And now he's come up with another elaborate scheme, but this time it's Hugo and Molly that got hurt." My voice catches in my throat again, and Albus's arms squeeze tighter around me as my cries escape me.

As they die down again—quickly since all I've been doing these past twenty-four hours is cry—Albus leads me into the room where the others are waiting. Uncle Harry ushers us inside. Everyone is quiet as we take our seats around the table, my eyes going straight to the enchanted wall. Scorpius is still seated at the interrogation table, but his head in his hands and his fingers grip his hair. I can't see his face, which may have been a blessing since seeing his distraught form might have made me want to turn back and run to him again. As if reading my mind, Grayson flicks her wand so the image of Scorpius disappears. With him out of sight, I chide myself. Was I really that quick to forgive him for almost killing Hugo?

"Well," Grayson says, folding her hands in front of her and demanding everyone's attention, "despite my doubts, you have proven to be valuable." My heart sinks, realising that I may have put Scorpius back into Azkaban after getting him out of it. "This is something we can work with," she continues. "As well as something that can keep him here for questioning. So thank you."

"Why does this feel like you're sending me home?" I ask.

"You have done enough-"

"I want to stay," I say, interrupting Grayson. By her murderous look, I surmise that it's not something she's used to. "I can do more. Scorpius said he wants to explain what happened, and I want to give him that chance. Maybe it'll reveal more about what's happening." Grayson purses her lips, not seeming happy at the fair point I'm making. "And then I can keep him talking. He could let more slip-"

"Rose," Uncle Harry says as Grayson shakes her head. I look up at my uncle, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. "It's been a long and emotional day…"

"I have more of a right than any of you to know exactly what happened to my brother," I say, standing up and brushing off Uncle Harry's hand.

There is silence as I glance around at everyone's reluctant faces. Then Grayson takes me by surprise. "All right," she says, "but that's all." The triumph of the moment fills my chest then exits just as quickly in the midst of Grayson's pause. "After he explains what happened at the Triwizard Tournament, we take over the questioning. And you tell us everything you know."

My stomach clenches, having forgotten that I still haven't told them all of the secrets Scorpius entrusted to me. "If Scorpius talks, what I have to say won't matter…"

Grayson glares at me, not accepting the excuse. "Do we have a deal?" she asks.

"Yes," I say with a nod, the dread of going back to face Scorpius mixing with the new dread of having to be interrogated myself afterwards.

With a satisfied nod, Grayson ushers me towards the door. Once we step into the corridor, I ask, "Does this mean Scorpius is under arrest again?"

"For harmful magic and possible attempted murder, yes," Grayson says in a straightforward voice.

She reaches for the handle of the interrogation room door, but I grab her sleeve to stop her. "Don't tell him," I say, my mind reminding me that being under arrest was always part of Scorpius's plan. "Being under arrest is what he wanted. I think the only reason he drank the Veritaserum was because he was free to leave." Grayson purses her lips, probably thinking of how legal it is to keep someone under questioning without telling them they are under arrest. "Please," I add. "It's the only leverage I have… that we have."

Grayson stares down at me with a look not full of hatred anymore. I think she's finally realised we're on the same side. I don't even know when I realised that. "Fine," she says, opening the door and shoving me inside.

~OoOoO~

Isa and I stood outside Scorpius's building, my hand on the door handle. "I think I should speak to him alone."

"I figured you would," Isa said with a cheeky smile. Before I could contradict her assumptions, though, she twirled around and headed towards the shops. "I'll be around. Don't wait up for me."

Isa disappeared down the street, her shadow fading quickly in the evening light. The sky was red and purple as the sun set, but I turned away from it. I knew Isa would be gone all night now, chasing after a story or, if one could not be found, a wizard to buy her a drink. Ever since Sam began dating Chelsea Corner, that was all Isa seemed to find joy in anymore.

Shaking away my concerned thoughts for my friend, I opened the building's door and headed straight for the staircase. This building happened to be one of the first residential areas created in Diagon Alley, and it was only about five years old. Apparently, it was my generation's doing, wanting a place to live where they didn't have to hide their magic.

I reached the door of his flat on the third story, raising my fist to knock before I paused. Was I really doing this? What was I going to say when—if—he answered? Accuse him of cursing my brother? Accuse him of _knowing_ who cursed my brother and not telling the other Aurors? Really, it was a great way to start a conversation with an ex-boyfriend I hadn't seen in a year.

I walked down the corridor, scolding myself for getting this far. Coming up and going through with bad ideas was sort of my thing, but this was a new low. Albus was right. I shouldn't be here.

As I reached the end of the hall and stepped down on the first step of the staircase, a door creaked open behind me. I turned to see a foot stepping out of Scorpius's flat and flattened myself against the wall, out of sight. I didn't know my heart could beat that fast.

Then I cursed myself again. Was I really hiding from Scorpius? I was being stupid. If I was to be caught, I should at least do it with some dignity. Taking a deep breath, I moved forward, facing the corridor and ready to face whatever reaction Scorpius gave at seeing me.

All I saw was someone's back disappearing around the corner at the other end of the corridor. That was when I stopped thinking altogether.

I cast a Disillusionment Charm on myself and raced down the corridor. When I turned the corner, I found a shorter hall that ended in a door. As quietly as I could, I opened it and found myself in another staircase, one less grand looking than the main stairs I climbed up. Looking down, I watched Scorpius reach the bottom and exit through the backdoor. I followed. To hell with promising Albus I wasn't going to stalk him.

Scorpius walked through Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron. I tried not to bump into too many people as I weaved through the crowds. Isa sat at the bar, chatting up a bloke with big ears. The stories must have been scarce that night, as well as all the fit men.

By the time I made it out to Charring Cross Road, I thought I had lost him. I spotted a figure up the road a bit, though it could have been anyone. Night had fallen, throwing the world into black and white, and from that distance, I couldn't tell if the person was tall and slender enough to be Scorpius. I followed anyways, reminding myself that no harm would be done if it wasn't him. I tried not to think about what would happen if it _was_ him.

The figure led me out of the busy London crowds who were luckily intoxicated enough not to notice when they bumped into an invisible person. We reached a fairly deserted street, the only indication of a nightlife being a neon sign hanging above a dodgy building that read _Fawkes and Viksin Pub_. Whoever I was following went inside.

I was convinced now that I had been following the wrong person, that Scorpius would never frequent a pub this undesirable, but I went in anyways. I had little hope, but a drink didn't sound like the worst thing in the world either.

Once inside, I surveyed the place for a loo, having little difficulty manoeuvring my way back to them. The pub was not crowded. The loo was empty, but I went into a stall just in case. Looking down, I could see that my charm had been wearing off. If a Muggle had seen me in the bright lights of the loo instead of the dim lights of the pub, they might've thought I was a ghost.

I waved my wand to remove the charm, then headed back out to find a seat at the bar. As I walked, I scanned the pub and the faces there. In one corner was a group of well-dressed Muggles who couldn't have been any older than myself and obviously thought they were well of themselves for finding such an unknown space. In the opposite corner was a couple of older men who were as unclean and dark as the pub they were in. The only other people were a tiny older man in a purple hat surrounded by a lot of dart-playing University girls. Scorpius was not among any of the groups. Maybe I really had been following a stranger for ten minutes into a seedy pub.

The bartender leant against the bar, his back to me as he wiped a glass with a cloth. "Looking for someone?" he asked not even looking my way. The way he presented himself, trying not to look interested, made me think he wasn't asking in order to get a good tip. Either that or he was trying very hard to seem uninterested in me.

"Yes," I said with a defeated voice. I had nothing left to lose, no hope that I would see Scorpius tonight, so I continued, "A tall blond bloke. Thin but not scrawny. Gray eyes."

The bartender chuckled. "You could've stopped at tall and blond. That sounds like Scorpius Malfoy."

I nearly fell out of my seat. "You know him?"

"Of course." The bartender shrugged. "He comes around regularly."

"Have you seen him tonight?" I didn't mean to sound so desperate or lean so far over the bar, but with Scorpius seeming so close, a rush of old feelings drowned out my better judgement.

"Can't say that I have."

I deflated, all of the excitement of going to Diagon Alley and following someone through the streets of London seemed to pour out of my body at his words. "Oh," was all I could say.

"But he comes around here almost every night," the bartender continued, shoving off from the counter to face me. "If you stick around, he might turn up. I can offer you a Firewhiskey."

I considered the offer, glancing up at him and thinking that he must convince a lot of girls to order drinks they might not want. He had brilliant blue eyes against dark skin and a devilish smile. But my urge to drink had passed at the prospect of actually meeting Scorpius here, and I was about to decline when his words seemed to circle around my brain and repeat in my ear.

My eyes immediately went back to him, and my bewildered face must have been amusing to him because he chuckled. "Or would you prefer Black Ice vodka?"

I glanced around us, but no one was within hearing distance. Still, I leant forward and whispered, "Isn't this a Muggle pub?"

The bartender flashed me that winning mischievous smile again, reminding me more and more of James. "It is, but it's also owned and tended by my uncle and me, respectively." He nodded towards the man in the purple hat.

"How have I never heard of this place before?" I asked. Normally pubs that were magic-friendly didn't stay secret for long.

"We like to keep to ourselves," the bartender said. "Lots of pubs have gone out of business because of drunk wizards getting too wand-happy."

"Oh," I said again, my amazement still leaving me quite speechless. "But… how did you know I was a witch?"

The bartender sniggered. "I can spot a worn Disillusionment charm from across the room." My cheeks burned in embarrassment, only blushing more when the bartender leant in closer. "And who wouldn't be able to recognise Rose Weasley."

My lips pulled into an uncomfortable smile, still not knowing how to react to being recognised after all these years. "Yes, well, I guess I'm not the most conspicuous person."

"That won't be a problem here," he said, then held up the glass he had been cleaning. "So what can I get you? The first one is always on the house," he said with a wink. I didn't answer, having a hard time turning down that generous offer but having the feeling that I should go. Behind that handsome face, there was something untrustworthy about him. "I bet you're a whiskey girl," he said, not waiting for an answer before he dunked the glass into a container of ice.

There was no stopping him, so I decided to use my time trying to figure out who he was and if I somehow knew him. Maybe I had seen him at Hogwarts? Maybe he'd been a Quidditch rival or a prankster. Something that made me distrust him on sight. "So what's your name?" I asked.

"John," he said, tugging open a cabinet beneath the shelves of Muggle alcohol and rummaging through the bottles.

I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess. John Smith?"

"No, actually," he said, grabbing an amber bottle and filling the glass to the brim with concentration. As he set the whiskey in front of me, he gave me another wink. "John Doe."

"Funny," I said tersely, picking up the drink and chugging as much as I could in one go. Luckily, Dominique and Molly had trained me for a moment like this. When I set the glass down, John Doe the bartender was giving me an impressed grin. He lifted the bottle to refill, but I put my hand over the glass. "You know my name," I said, pronouncing each word carefully as I already started to feel the dizzying effects of the whiskey. "It's only fair you tell me yours."

"To be fair, you never told me yours." He didn't lower the bottle. I didn't move my hand.

I lifted my other hand from my lap and held it out to him. "I'm Rose," I said with a challenging grin. "Pleasure to meet you."

The bartender hesitated, then seemed to grow even more impressed with me. He put down the bottle and shook my hand. "Good to meet you, Rose. I'm Bass."

"Bass?" I repeated, not unaccustomed to unusual names but wanting to know this stranger's actual name and not some nickname. "Short for Sebastian?"

He nodded once in affirmation as he withdrew his hand, then his eyes focused on something behind me. "Ah, I told you we'd find your man."

My momentary confusion subsided quickly as I spun around to see Scorpius standing behind me, his face struggling to stay composed. "Rose," he said, though it sounded more like a warning than a greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um, see… Bass told me you come here often, and I wanted to talk to you about…" Searching my fuzzy brain, I couldn't remember exactly why I had been looking for Scorpius.

Scorpius approached and gave a suspicious glance between me, the nearly empty glass of whiskey, and Bass. Then his arm was around my shoulders before I could think twice. "You should not be here," he said in a harsh whisper as he ushered me towards the doors.

"I needed to talk to you," I insisted, though the reason for the urgency was still lost somewhere in my head. When had I become such a lightweight? Firewhiskey never hit me this hard.

"Listen to me, Rose." Scorpius stopped in front of the doors in the little alcove of the entrance. From here, we were hidden from everyone in the pub except the dart-playing students and Bass's uncle. I watched them flicking the objects into a board before Scorpius's hand grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. "Behind you is a charmed wall hiding a staircase. I want you to go down to the basement and wait for me. Are you listening? Wait for me there."

"Why should I?" I said, the words harder to spit out then they should have been. I tried to push Scorpius away, but he kept a strong hold on me.

"Rose, please." His pleading tone caught my attention, and I fought through the mugginess of my brain to focus on him. "Go to the basement and stay there. Please, for once, do as I ask without asking any questions."

I looked into his eyes, bringing back memories of patrolling on Halloween night and talking in the Forbidden Forest and laying on the floor of the Prefect's common room. I could trust him. "Okay."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Scorpius stared at me a moment longer as if assessing if he could trust my promise in the state I was in. Then he let me go and stormed out of the doors of the pub.

I stood there on my wobbly feet for a minute, a part of me tempted to spite Scorpius and return home or, even more tempting, to return to the bar. Then the sensible part of my brain reminded me of the glint in Bass's eye and suddenly I felt like I was on to something. Perhaps I had stumbled closer to the truth than ever before. Maybe—and it was a tiny chance but one I needed to believe in—Scorpius had something to tell me.

My hand reached back as I turned around and faced what looked like a solid drywall. When my fingers brushed against it, that's exactly what it felt like too. My frustration was muffled by my whiskey-soaked brain. Not sure what to do, I lost my balance standing still for too long, barely catching myself. I reached a hand to the wall to steady myself, but my fingers disappeared through it. Apparently walking straight was not going to be a strength of mine that night.

The stairs were old, wooden, and steep with no railing. Looking down at my feet to watch where I stepped only made my vertigo worse. Before I fell, I sat, groaning at my body. What was wrong with me and why did I have the feeling that whatever I had drunk wasn't just Firewhiskey?

I made my way down the stairs on my arse, sliding from step to step as delicately as I could. Doing anything delicately was not in my nature sober, and by the time I reached the bottom of the staircase, my tailbone felt bruised and my head seemed heavier than usual.

When I heard a snap from somewhere in the basement, I didn't look in its direction until Scorpius was already kneeling in front of me. He placed a hand on my cheek, keeping my head from rolling off my shoulder. "Rose, oi, focus," he said in a quiet voice.

I forced my eyes to stop staring around the basement, though the shelves of shiny bottles were quite distracting. When my gaze steadied and took in Scorpius's concerned face, I smiled. "Hi," I said, remembering that was the proper way to greet someone.

Scorpius ignored me and put an arm around my waist to help me up. "We need to leave."

"Where're we going?" I said, or think I said. Getting words from my brain to my mouth was proving to be a challenge.

"Somewhere safe." He kept me on my feet as I swayed, not sure I would have been able to stand if not for him. He took my limp arms and placed them around his middle. "Please do not let go," he said. "The last thing we need is a Splinching."

Hearing that word brought on memories of Dad's scar and his gory retellings of how he got it. I squeezed my arms tight around Scorpius, holding the fabric of his shirt in my fingers, and nuzzled my head into his chest. That last action was probably unnecessary, but he smelt fantastic.

I squeezed my eyes shut as soon as Scorpius raised his wand. My stomach lurched as we Apparated, having to use all of my common sense to keep from letting go. As soon as our legs hit solid ground, I let go of Scorpius to cover my mouth with both my hands. I ran forward before realising we were not at Scorpius's flat in Diagon Alley. We were in some other flat, one where I didn't know the location of a toilet. The kitchen was within sight, though, and I managed to run to the edge of the sink before vomiting more violently than I ever had before.

Once the burning bile was out of my system, I collapsed on my knees in exhaustion. My mind was beginning to clear, but embarrassment was the only thing taking the place of the fogginess. Who doesn't picture seeing their ex again when they are in a state of grace and glory? And here I was, seeing him again after a year apart, and I was puking into a sink.

"Here." Scorpius squatted next to me and held out a glass of water.

I glared at him, wishing he would stop being unrelentingly chivalrous for a second and go away. "Thanks," I said, hoisting myself back up and snatching the glass. I tried not to look directly at the contents in the sink as I rinsed and spit. No matter how many times I gurgled the water, my throat still burned and my mouth tasted bitter. "You don't happen to have a toothbrush or something, do you?" I asked.

Scorpius stood at the end of the counter, giving me space. He gestured to a hall that led off from the living room. "The door on the right."

My weakened legs could not carry me out of there fast enough. The tiny bathroom was sparse and had no cabinets, but a toothbrush and paste sat on the edge of the sink. I realised that they most likely belonged to Scorpius, but at this point, I didn't care. I would buy him a new damn toothbrush.

I brushed my teeth twice, and with most of the Firewhiskey—or whatever had been in that glass—out of my body, I felt more in control of myself. I still felt a faint buzz as if I'd had one too many butterbeers and my mouth tasted like mint syrup, but it was nothing compared to the stumbling incoherent mess I had been. I cupped my hand under the faucet and drank some water, cooling my still burning throat.

Dear Merlin, what the hell was I doing? I was in a strange flat at some time in the night with an ex-boyfriend I hadn't seen in a year and my already faulty inhibitions were lowered even after cleansing my system. I didn't even want to think about the kitchen sink. In the rusty mirror, my reflection showed that I looked nearly as bad as I felt. My skin was pale even by Weasley standards, and my plait had completely undone itself. I splashed water on my face and dried myself with a towel. Then I left the bathroom without looking in the mirror, not wanting to know if my efforts had worked or not.

When I entered the living room again, Scorpius sat on the sofa with a cup of tea in his hand. Taking a deep breath, I surmised that he had cleaned up the kitchen sink, which only made me feel more guilty.

"How are you?" he asked, setting his steaming mug down. "Can I get you anything?"

"No," I snapped before he could stand. I kept my distance, loitering by the doorway of the hall. Feeling restless, I grabbed the back of the armchair opposite Scorpius and ran my fingers along it. "So where are we?"

Scorpius sat back in the cushions of his sofa, the helpful host mask fading into a drained, defeated face. "Do you know who that was, at the pub?"

I clutched the back of the armchair, my fingernails digging into the fabric. "I don't know and are you really not to going to tell me where we are?"

"Rose, think," he said in a calm voice like he didn't have the energy to fight with me or say anything more.

I glared at him, tempted to Apparate back home right then, but something kept me from grabbing my wand. "He said his name was Sebastian, but that's mostly likely a lie because he also told me the owner was his uncle, which I highly doubt considering that man is fair as fair can be and Sebastian looked like he could be Mediterranean or something…" I paused as another thought crashed into my rant. Scorpius gave me an encouraging look. "And looked a lot like his father could be Blaise Zabini."

In my previous state, I had forgotten all about the boy named Sebastian Zabini who was a sixth year when I first entered Hogwarts. He never showed up in my second year, rumoured to have dropped out.

"Who's his mother?" I asked, knowing that Blaise Zabini had a reputation of infidelity as infamous as his mother's reputation for failed marriages. Despite marrying Scorpius's Aunt Daphne young and having a single son with her, the amount of Zabini bastards running around Britain was sickening.

"Angelica Maize," Scorpius said with a sneer.

"The woman arrested with Zabini after that incident with the Muggles."

"It was more than a simple incident," he said. "It was an entire scam."

I nodded, remembering some of the details of the crime. Blaise Zabini bought a Muggle business and used magic to trick Muggles out of their money, and Angelica Maize used her job at Gringotts to exchange the money without raising suspicion. Uncle Bill had been the one to find out about the scam, but Uncle Harry and Mum advocated for a stronger sentence than the precedent for abusing Muggles. If not for them, Zabini and Maize wouldn't have ended up in Azkaban at all.

"So," I said, knowing my next words would upset him but feeling spiteful since he ignored my first question, "I'm assuming that he's involved with whatever you were involved with last year and, if I had to guess, are still involved in."

Scorpius kept his gaze on the coffee table and the mug sitting on top of it. "This is the only place I feel safe," he said, answering my first question and ignoring the fact that we had a conversation in between. "The owner of the pub, Dedalus, let me rent this place after he saw me and figured I was in trouble. He used to hide Muggle-borns and fugitives in these rooms during the war. I would guess he was a part of that Order of the Phoenix, but I try not to ask a lot of questions. He gave me a place where I can stay and not feel watched. I stop into the bar, make sure Bass sees me, then I come up here for an hour or two. Not too long, not enough to raise suspicion, but enough to keep me sane."

"They're still watching you?" I asked, my sympathy sparked. I couldn't imagine that, having someone looking over my shoulder for two years straight.

"They keep tabs on me. Watch where I go." Scorpius picked up his tea and took a comforting sip.

"And you make sure they think you're at the pub when you're here," I said, everything making sense. "If they ask, you'll have an alibi and someone to confirm it. And you use the basement so anyone watching from the outside only sees you walk into the pub and then back out."

Scorpius nodded, clutching his mug in his lap. "I admit, it is far from ideal, but what else can I do?"

"You can go to the Aurors," I muttered, causing Scorpius to shake his head and fuel me into continuing. "You can! You're one of them now. There's no excuse about them not trusting your word because of some old feud during the war. My uncle trusts you, I know he does. If he didn't, he wouldn't have partnered you with his youngest son."

Scorpius continued to shake his head, giving no other response. It was entirely too frustrating for my buzzing brain to ignore. I marched over to him and kneeled in front of the sofa, forcing him to look at me. "You don't have to do this alone, Scorpius."

"You don't understand," he said, standing.

I pushed myself up with him, grabbing his arms before he could walk away. "I would if you would talk to me. I don't care if you don't want to involve the Aurors and the Ministry, but you can at least tell me."

"No, Rose," he said between clenched teeth. "You have no idea of the danger you are in."

"Which was the same thing you said a year ago, but surprise, surprise, I'm still here, zero attempts on _my_ life." I shoved him, reminded of why I had tracked him down in the first place. "And what happened to you trying to make things go back to normal? Because my brother getting cursed isn't normal to me. Whatever you're doing Scorpius, it isn't working." With every few words, I pushed him again, rougher and rougher until he stumbled back.

He grabbed my wrists to stop me and forced them back to my sides. "I am trying," he said in a loud voice, his face right in front of mine. "But circumstances have changed."

"So how long is this secret plan of yours going to last now?"

"As long as it needs to."

I paused to glared at him. "And how long are you keeping me out of it?"

"As long as I can."

I wanted to slap him, but his hold on my wrists kept me from doing so. "Why?" I spit, having asked the question a hundred times but still hoping for a better answer.

"Because telling you would pose a threat to your life that I am not willing to risk," he said cooly, loosening his hold on my wrists.

"And why is my well-being in your hands?" I asked, readying to fling my hands out of his grasp and shove him over the back of the sofa. "Last time I checked, we weren't together anymore."

His hands dropped from mine, but the softness in his face drained away all my violent urges. "Together or not, I will always do what is necessary to protect you. I will always care for you, Rose."

With my hands-free, Scorpius couldn't stop me from grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking him down to crash his lips with mine. I pulled back, tense and prepared for Scorpius to push me away, but his tentative mouth came back to mine. One hesitant kiss, and then it all went to hell.

His hands disappeared beneath my top, the tips of his fingers digging into the skin of my waist. My own hands were working on the buttons of his shirt before my impatience grew too much to handle and I ripped it open, buttons clinking across the floor. I felt disjointed like I could only focus on one body part at a time: my bottom lip sucked against his tongue, then my hands trying to undo two pairs of trousers at once, then my knees buckling against the edge of the sofa, my back pressed into the scratchy material.

Then he was gone.

When I opened my eyes, Scorpius sat on the edge of the coffee table, his body moving with every breath. I watched him between my legs, one hooked over the top of the sofa, the other foot touching the ground. My exposed stomach expanded and contracted as I panted.

Scorpius stood and walked towards the hall while I lifted myself up and tugged down my shirt, feeling a rip in the side. When had that happened? I curled my legs up to my chest and watched Scorpius stare at the floor and rub his forehead against his fingers like he had a headache.

"I'm sorry," I said, causing him to looked up at me. "About your shirt." I gestured towards the buttons scattered across the floor.

He waved away the apology, grabbed his wand from his pocket, and fixed the buttons back on with a few swirling motions. As he fastened the buttons, he turned away and walked towards the kitchen.

I felt something wet drip down my check and flicked away the tear, wondering when that had started. I swallowed hard before saying, "I guess you should be getting back." I sucked in a steadying breath, trying to remember what we had been talking about before all that. "Where did you Apparate back to the pub from anyways?"

Scorpius stood at the sink, drinking from the glass he had offered me earlier. "I made sure to pass by the home of someone who works for them," he said as he refilled the glass. "If they ask, I already have a story about my whereabouts."

"Of course you do," I muttered, crossing my arms and facing away from him. "Lying just comes naturally to you."

The glass clinked against the counter as he set it down, and I watched his shadow approach me. He remained standing as he said, "We cannot be seen in public together. Ever. They need to believe there is nothing between us any longer. But…" He stepped forwards into my line of sight, bending down so we were face-to-face again. "You can come here anytime you wish." My breath caught on my fluttering heart. "If you need or want to talk to me, or if you ever need a safe place to hide, you will always be welcomed here."

"And I can assume you'll always be here around this time?" I asked.

"On a normal day, yes." Scorpius squeezed my fingers in his and kissed my forehead. His fingers lingered on mine as he walked away and added, "I hope you and Ashton are happy."

My breath stilled inside my chest. "We aren't," I said, waiting a moment before turning to see Scorpius standing frozen in the corner of the room, wand out and ready to Disapparate. "We split after the Triwizard Tournament. He has a younger brother, I thought he would be understanding, but he told me I was obsessing too much over something I should just leave to the Aurors."

"You do have a habit of obsessing and involving yourself in matters," Scorpius said, an almost sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Yeah, well, he thought he could actually stop me," I said, keeping my eyes on Scorpius.

Scorpius flashed a smirk. "He never was the brightest."

"We can't all be Ravenclaws, now can we?" I smiled, and Scorpius's mouth twitched upward before settling back into a serious frown, like no matter how hard he tried, happiness evaded him. Still, his eyes seemed a bit bluer and I liked to think that I helped with that. He raised his wand, but I added with a cheeky grin, "You're zipper's down."

His free hand flew up to the crotch of his trousers, tugging the little zipper up and smoothing out the creases in the material. "Thank you," he said, then gestured towards me. "And, uh, your-"

"Yes, I realise," I said, glancing down at my dungarees, the waistband of which was halfway down my thighs.

He nodded as if just making sure. "Good night," he said, then turned on the spot and disappeared with a crack.

I stared at the spot Scorpius had been standing for a moment longer, then tugged my dungarees back up where they belonged and settled into the sofa. The place was smaller than my flat, but with only me inside, it felt much larger. I stretched my feet out on the coffee table and looked around. There wasn't much there, no decorations or pictures or stacks of old mail or pieces of dirty laundry. As much as I loved Isa, I had missed living in a place so clean and organised and minimal. This place smelt clean, not a trace of Isa's vanilla perfume. I was in no hurry to leave.

Scorpius's mug of tea still sat on the table, half gone. I knew I must have had him flustered because he would never have left a dish out like that. I picked up the mug, warmed it with my wand, and took a sip.

Then I nearly spit it out. Merlin, what did Scorpius have against a little sweetener? I summoned some sugar, hoping he even had some there, and caught the little cube in my hand. "Almost like you were expecting me," I muttered.

~OoOoO~

"Rose," Scorpius says as soon as the door clicks closed. He stands from his seat and takes a step towards me before I put a hand up to stop him.

"Don't," I say in a low voice that forces him back into his seat. He falls into it, all acts of composure gone. He slumps forward, elbows on his knees, and his grey eyes stare up at me between strands of pale hair that have fallen across his brow.

I can't look at him for long, turning my back to compose myself. My hand grips the back of my chair, under some illusion that I can sit down. I know I can't. I feel panicked enough without feeling trapped by a chair. Right now, I need the option to run. Maybe Albus was right; maybe I'm not ready to hear the truth.

"Okay," I say, turning slightly so I can see him but not able to completely face Scorpius yet. "You asked to explain yourself, so go on. Explain."

There's a moment of silence where I fear Scorpius won't say anything more. The Veritaserum is bound to be wearing off; the potion is powerful but isn't meant for long-lasting effects. Should I ask him to explain? Maybe I can get one more honest answer out of him.

"You know why I agreed to do it," he finally says, his words jamming through my thoughts like a thorn. "If I refused, they would have killed my—"

"—your parents," I say, perhaps a bit more snappish than was called for. I stop myself from adding a biting 'I know.'

Another silence descends on us, and I regret opening my mouth. I really need to learn to bite my tongue. Scorpius was now staring at the floor like a scolded child. With my luck, he would go quiet now and leave me with very little answers. I couldn't imagine Scorpius agreeing to hurt my brother willingly, even with his parents' lives on the line. That wasn't Scorpius. Scorpius didn't believe in casualties or sacrifices or even fair trades; he was all or nothing. He would have done whatever he could to save both parties.

Then it hit me. He had. As far as I knew, his parents were still alive, and Scorpius had been the one to save Hugo's life when that hippogriff attacked him. Maybe my gut reaction had been too rash. Scorpius may have put that curse on the harness, but he had also cast the spell that had stopped LuLu from crushing Hugo.

My anger dissipates, not all the way, but enough for me to face Scorpius and take my seat. "So Hugo's life in exchange for both your parents?" I say tucking in my chair. Scorpius nods, his head still ducked but his eyes looking at me again. "And yet all three are still alive?" I pause, just in case, but Scorpius doesn't contradict me. "How'd you manage that?"

"I did what I always do: I came up with… how did you put it? An elaborate scheme?" The side of his mouth pulls up into a smirk, and I want to slap him as I feel my lips twitching towards a smile. How is it he always does that? Whenever I'm mad, all he has to do is smile to calm me down into listening as he talks me out of being upset. It's truly aggravating.

"And what exactly was that scheme?" I ask, with as straight a face as I can manage.

Scorpius's mournful sigh drags me out of our teasing antics and reminds me what we're discussing: threats and curses and near death experiences. My shadow of a smile vanishes.

"I was given almost no instructions," Scorpius says, his eyes unfocused as if they are looking inward at his own memories. "When Albus and I were assigned the tournament for our field experience, I was simply told that it was an opportunity I was not allowed to waste. I had very little to work with since the tasks seemed so harmless, and the third task was only one where something could go wrong.

"I spent months finding a bit of magic that would work. It had to be specific to a person, so I knew from the start it would be complicated magic. Finally, I found a potion that would only affect one person and would shock them if they touched a certain amount of it, even if it's soaked into an object."

"That's why no one could find any traces of a curse," I say, unable to restrain myself from interrupting. "And why it went undetected."

"Exactly," Scorpius says, something like pride in his eyes at me catching on. "Potions are difficult to detect. I needed to use magic that would be concealable so the whole incident might be written off as an accident."

Scorpius hesitates, and I realise it must be because of the fear on my face. I always knew he was intelligent but never dangerously smart. If all had gone according to plan, there was no doubt Scorpius would have gotten away with murder. For the first time, I'm actually scared of him. Scorpius looks as if he wants to say something to take away that fear, but what can he say? I simply have to remind myself that in the end, he did the right thing.

Scorpius continues, "When the day of the third task came, I waited until I could be alone to do it. Albus and I were inspecting the equipment to be used during the task. We started at opposite ends and double-checked each other. No one wanted anything tampered with, but I made sure to arrange our inspection in a way that left me double-checking the harness after Albus. All I had to do was pour the potion."

He stops as if he's reached the end of the story. "But that doesn't explain how both my brother and your parents are still fine," I say, urging him to go on. I don't want to leave it like this, with Scorpius being the sharp minded killer. He needs to get to the part where he saves everyone.

"At first, I had no further plan," he says, shame coating his words. "I knew I would arrange our patrolling so that I was closest to Hugo, but then I only saw two choices: allowing the hippogriff to attack or saving Hugo knowing it would cost my parents their lives. I hated having to make that choice and was scared of both options. So I decided to not let myself make the choice."

He pauses to draw in a shaky breath. "Right after I administered the potion, I… I removed those memories."

Confusion stumps me for a moment. Memory charms are hard enough on another person but on yourself? I don't even know how I would go about attempting it. "What do you mean 'removed'?" I ask.

"As if depositing into a Pensieve," he says bitterly. "I took out all of those memories: being instructed to kill your brother, learning how to brew that potion, pouring it over the harness…"

"But how did you… forget them?"

"Is that knowledge you really want to have?"

His haughty tone makes me want to hex him, but as usual, he's right. I would never even want the option to take away my own memories. "So you found a loophole?" I ask.

"I thought I had." All the confidence he'd gained from his previous comment disappears as his whole body seems to sink into his chair. "I knew it was a risk, but it was the only way I could find to keep anyone from getting hurt, but of course, they were upset with me."

"What happened?" I ask when it seems that he has lost himself.

His pause continues, his eyes unfocused. My mind begins conjuring up all types of horrors that could be taunting him, but a single deep breath from Scorpius blows away all of those images. "Claire," he says.

For a moment, I don't understand. Claire? Claire Worthington? But she's dead, what else could they possibly do to her? Then the meaning of her name settles into my stomach like a dozen Bludgers. "They killed her because…?" I can't finish.

He nods.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Finally, another chapter! Hope this reunion was worth the wait! As always, a big thank you to my betas and readers, especially those of you who have followed, faved, and reviewed. You all are awesome.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 _the quiet won't let go_

 _._

Claire Worthington died as punishment for Scorpius attempting to get out of a deal with whoever is threatening his parents. No wonder he reacted so strongly to her name.

I think back on the past few days we spent together, what seemed so long ago but were incredibly recent. Had I said anything insensitive? My jealousy over Worthington made me a horrible and bitter person, and one thing I hate most is having my past words coming back to bite me in the arse. It happened on enough occasions for me to know it was never pleasant.

The silence goes on without my realising it until someone knocks on the door. As soon as it opens a crack, I look over my shoulder and say, "Do I at least get to say goodbye?"

Uncle Harry hovers in the doorway, his mouth frozen open after being cut off. He huffs out the breath he had taken. "Try to do it before I lose my job," he says before closing the door.

Scorpius's face hardens back into a blank stare. It had been gone for so long, its presence unnerves me more than it should. "So this is where you leave?" he asks.

"Apparently I've done all I can," I say. "Besides, I don't think the Aurors are too fond of me doing their jobs for them."

"I would think not," he says.

I hope that he will say something more, maybe a last minute change of heart where he assures me he will confide in the Aurors in exchange for not being arrested for nearly killing Hugo. I can't believe that thought is even crossing my mind. After hoping for the severest punish for whoever hurt Hugo while sitting with him in the hospital wing at Beauxbatons, it is strange to now know who cursed that harness and be wishing for his freedom.

"I guess your plan worked out after all," I say, fishing one more desperate time. "You'll be sent to Azkaban. You'll be safe."

He nods.

"So is that the end of the plan?" I ask. "Self-preservation?"

I know the blatantly Slytherin trait will get under his skin, and its success shows in his pursed lips. "No," he says in a firm voice that is a mixture of defensiveness and hurt.

"I guess I should know you well enough to assume you've always got a plan," I say, bitterness coating my words. While Scorpius and I are similar in many ways—overachieving, organisational, always right—this is our one glaring difference: Scorpius has a reason for every one of his actions while most of mine are hardly ever thought through. I never have a secret motive; Scorpius always does. It's so easy to distrust, and I hate myself when I fall into that hole. I used to trust that he was genuine, but after today, after hearing the truth about Hugo, I have my doubts. Now I know what he's capable of.

The hurricane of mixed emotions I've felt today is starting to take its toll. I feel like I've hit a wall riding a broom. I've spent hours digging for the truth, but eventually even a Hufflepuff tires of hard work, especially when faced with a stone wall. I've run out of moves.

"Is there anything I can say to convince you to tell me everything?" I ask, knowing it will get me nowhere, but it's my one last shove against the immovable wall.

"If I knew that," he says, "I would have already convinced myself."

What more can I say? This is over. All that's left is more stalling, and Grayson won't let me stay here forever. Eventually, I'm going to be dragged out.

No, I need to end this on _my_ terms. If this is the last time I see Scorpius, I need it to have meaning.

When the door burst open, I'm ready to tell off whoever it is. "What is happening down here—" an authoritative voice shouts, then cuts off. "Rose?"

"Mum?" I say, turning in my chair. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm, well, I—" She's interrupted by Uncle Harry calling her from the other room. She gives me one more confused look before saying, "I'll be right back," and shutting the door.

I face Scorpius again, who is now staring at the door with a single raised eyebrow. "Well," I say, "I should probably go out there and see what's going on."

"That seems like a good idea," he says, his eyes slowly making their way back to me.

I bristle at his agreement. "I might not come back," I remind him.

I don't know what I expect, or even what I _want_ , to hear. For him to beg me not to leave? To tell me how sorry he is for everything? To come up with a brilliant new plan that solves everything in the next minute? No, I don't expect any of that.

"I know," he says, and it is exactly what I would expect of him.

~oOo~

Scorpius and I only got three peaceful days together in his hidden flat. I wasted day number one holding my grudge against him. Once I knew one secret, I hoped that the rest of them would come flying out. I wanted to give him a chance to tell me, as well as enact a bit of punishment. While a large part of me wanted to tell him it didn't matter—the same large part that had taken over that day in the Prefect's common room—I fought it off, determined not to let him think we could pick up where we had left off without some compromise on his part.

When I arrived home from work that day, I immediately went to work on creating the perfect silent treatment that I'd seen Victoire use on Teddy on countless occasions. Under normal circumstances, I would have been concerned that I was modelling the behaviour of my icy, manipulative cousin, but the circumstances were dire.

I took a long shower, actually taking the time to slather Victoire's thick home-made hair removal potion on parts of my body that I had long been neglecting. Before leaving the bathroom, I borrowed a portion of Isa's Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. Luckily, putting off cutting my hair for too long gave it the extra weight it needed to not frizz up with only a little bit of Sleekeazy's magic. My makeup bag was so far under my bed, I gave up reaching and summoned it with my wand, stirring up a cloud of dust. I really needed to remember to clean under my bed instead of shoving useless bags and boxes there.

An hour later, I examined myself as best I could in my wardrobe mirror, debating a venture into Isa's hurricane of a room to use the full-length mirror she had hidden in there somewhere. Instead, I stood on my bed to examine myself from the waist down. Knowing I would simply be lounging around Scorpius's flat for the evening, I had chosen a pair of comfortable black cotton shorts I normally only wore to bed and a rather snug Puddlemere United t-shirt. Maybe wearing Ashton's team's shirt and playing the jealousy card was too much, but I was not above anything that night. Hell, I'd even put on Everstay Lipstick, which I'd have to deal with for at least a week.

"Don't you look nice," Isa said when I left my room, cheeks blazing. "I'm guessing things with Scorpius went will last night."

I ignored her comments, turning my back on her in the kitchenette as I shuffled through our post. "You seemed to have a successful night too," I said.

Isa made a noncommittal noise, her wand tapping against the counter. "I wouldn't say successful. The only interesting person was this old hag rambling on about the end of the Ministry and life as we know. Earlier I thought I had a lead on some gossip about Tony Urkling showing up plastered to a concert, but it turned out not to be true."

"Who's Tony Urkling?" I asked.

Even with my back to Isa, I could feel her roll her eyes. "Lead singer of the Hobgoblins." Having found what I was looking for, I turned and shrugged at Isa. "You know," she said, pointing towards the magazines in my arms, "you should read more than just your cousin's articles. Then you'd know this stuff."

I shake my head, not planning on reading through Witch Weekly any time soon. The only reason I subscribed in the first place was because Victoire worked with them, but lately, I had trouble making it through even her articles. She had one baby and thought she knew it all.

"You know I wasn't referring to your writing," I said to Isa, giving her a knowing look. She'd been out much too late to only have been distracted by a conspiracy theory.

Isa waved me away. "Oh, I don't count that as a success. I'd give him a P except he does deserve some extra credit for buying me three drinks instead of the usual one, so I'll pass him with an A."

"How generous of you," I teased as I grabbed the Creature Healing books Luna had let me borrow from the side table and deposited them and the magazines into my enchanted wallet.

"Already packed your toothbrush and comb?" Isa asked.

"I'm not spending the night." Isa was not convinced, so I continued, "I have work in the morning."

"I know you, Rose," she said, leaning on her hands. "You never put in this much effort for nothing, so what's the occasion?"

I almost Disapparated instead of answering, but Isa was the type of person to pick up a conversation like it never stopped. "The occasion is I'm mad at him," I said, some of my bitterness sneaking into my voice.

"Oh," Isa said, dragging out the vowel like I'd told her I was going to Crucio him and she was happy not be in his place. Her eyes landed on the golden PU embroidered on my shirt. "Ouch."

A smile crept on my face. I loved doing a good job.

Isa shook her head at me, her expression changing from one of sympathy towards Scorpius to a proud grin. "Look at you," she said with a hand to her chest. "My little badger is growing fangs."

I stuck my tongue out and raised my wand. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Isa barked out a laugh that made me stop and look back at her. "Whatever he did, he'll be apologising. And after the shit shag I had last night, you better let him make it up to you. For my vicarious sake."

I spun around, ignoring her comment and the blush on my cheeks. If Scorpius planned on apologising like Isa thought, he had better start with a bucket full of confessions first.

My time waiting for Scorpius to arrive was spent making tea and setting out a container of Ginger Newts that I had brought along. By the time Scorpius popped into the flat, I was lounging on the sofa against a blanket that protected me from the scratchy fabric and made the furniture much more comfortable. The place had been so quiet that I jumped when I heard the snap of his arrival but forced myself to continue reading—or at least looking at—my book. His tea sat on the coffee table next to an alchemy book I had found on his nightstand.

Scorpius took a moment to take in the scene. "Evening," he said as he slowly made his way yo the armchair and examined the mug in front of it.

"No sugar and a splash of milk," I said, turning a page even though I wasn't done reading it.

"Thank you," he said, settling into his seat and picking up the book. He eyed me for another moment, then did as expected and read.

After a few minutes, my tense shoulders relaxed and my skimming eyes picked up on words again. This was familiar. We had spent a majority of our sixth year in compatible silence, each lost in our own schoolwork. It felt nice to finally have some of that easy normalcy again.

I barely noticed the hour passing until Scorpius snapped his book closed. "Is this how you plan to spend all your evenings here?" he asked. The tinge of disappointment in his tone let me know that Victoire's trick had worked.

"Not every day can be as exciting as last night," I said, looking up at him from my book as coyly as I could manage. His eyebrow arched as if he were up to the challenge. "Of course," I added, licking the tip of my finger and turning a page, "maybe I could be convinced…"

The tension in the room immediately rose to almost the same height it had been last night. I could feel Scorpius's steel grey eyes staring coldly at me without looking at him. "We had this conversation yesterday-"

"Well, we're having it again," I shouted, slamming the book closed. "I didn't like how the last one ended, and we're going to keep having this conversation until we get to an ending that I'm happy with."

"You act like I am keeping this secret to hurt you," Scorpius said, tossing his book onto the coffee table.

"It _does_ hurt!"

"And the truth would hurt more!"

Scorpius's raised voice hit like a curse, forcing tears from my eyes that I had sworn would not come out today. Today was all about control, getting what I wanted, not crying two seconds after confronting him. Frustrated with running into his same stubborn wall of silence and frustrated with myself for not being able to weasel my way through it, I shoved the edge of the table with the bottom of my foot and pushed myself off of the sofa. With my arms wrapped around myself, I stormed away but had nowhere to go. My options where the kitchenette, the bedroom, or the bathroom and none of them sounded like good ideas, though more so than Apparating back home. I found the most isolated corner, the one behind the counter of the kitchenette, and curled up there, my back against one wall and the side of my forehead leaning against the other.

A soft breeze and a faint pressure against my shoulder told me Scorpius had followed and sat beside me. I kept my eyes on the dingy white wall, holding my breath as if that would stop the flow of tears instead of forcing me to gasp for air every half minute.

Only after my shoulders stopped shaking did Scorpius lean firmly against my shoulder and placed a hand on my thigh. His fingers slid across my bare skin until they rested in the crease of my bent knee. I felt his arm raise and fall with the deep breaths he took before he said, "One question."

He spoke so softly I almost didn't believe he had spoken. I sniffled before turning my heard towards him, knowing how ridiculous I must look with red eyes and tear stained cheeks but my eyelashes still painted black and lips stained rose pink. "On what condition?" I asked.

His other hand reached across himself to run his thumb beneath my eye. "No condition," he said, "only a promise not to lose my temper again."

I smiled as he kissed my temple. "So," I said, grabbing the hand on my knee and lifting his arm over my shoulders, "I get a promise and a question? Doesn't seem fair."

"I figured you would be able to figure out some way to make it fair, little badger," he said, his nose nuzzling into my curls and brushing against the tip of my ear. Only Scorpius could say something like 'little badger' in a way that curled my toes.

"Are you trying to distract me?" I asked, bumping my shoulder into his chest.

"Not at all," he said, too close to my neck to not be distracting. "Though I am surprised you have yet to ask your question."

"Well I only get one," I said, moving my neck out of his lips' reach. "I have to put some thought behind it."

"Mmhmm," he hummed against my hair, the arm not around my shoulder draped across himself and his fingers tracing circles into my thigh. Scorpius was truly in a rare form. When it came to initiating anything more than a snog, it was usually me dropping hints and grabbing forbidden places. However, with the way one set of his fingers was sliding farther up my thigh while the other brushed back and forth across the top of my breast, I had a strong feeling Scorpius did not have a simple snog in mind. That was what I wanted, but I never expected it to work so well.

Despite the pleasant tingling that was spreading through my body, I forced my brain to run through all the questions that had been piling up throughout the past two years and try to figure out which one I should ask. I needed to be specific enough to get a clear answer but also give me as much information as possible. There were the obvious questions—who was leading this, what did they want, why was my life in danger—but Scorpius would never give me the chance to know the answers to those questions. I had to think of something that would catch him off guard, a question he hadn't already thought up a sly answer for.

"All right," I said, grabbing his hand as his fingers drifted down my inner thigh, "I've got one."

With a disappointed sigh, Scorpius pulled away from my neck and sat up. He stared down at me, waiting for me to ask with an expression that showed how easy he thought this would be. I hoped to prove him wrong.

"What was in the letter?" I asked, then add on before he could even answer, "And you know exactly which letter so don't you dare give me some bullshit answer about a letter your dad sent you. What did the letter you gave to Albus say?" Scorpius opened his mouth, but I put a finger up to stop him again. "And don't tell me that letters don't say anything. You know what I mean. What words were written on that letter?"

Scorpius paused as if waiting for another interruption, but I kept quiet, thinking that all my hoops were covered. "That was not the question I was expecting," he said.

I glared at him. "And that doesn't answer the question."

"I know." He held up one of his hands as if trying to stop me from getting angry again. "The letter was a tip to the Auror office, telling them to investigate a house out in Wales. I believe it belonged to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but I was never told very much about it. But the house isn't important-"

"I'll deem what's important," I said, not wanting to miss any information. "Where exactly is this house?"

"Really, Rose, the point is not the house-"

"Scorpius!"

"It was a decoy," he said, putting his hand on my arm before I could stand up.

"A decoy?" I repeated, trying to fit that into what little else I knew.

"Partly," he said, reconsidering his wording. "It was mostly a test."

"To see what they could get you to do," I said, finally seeing the letter for what is was. It had never been anything life or death, but if they could convince Scorpius to send a phoney tip to the Aurors, where he wanted to work, they could make him do anything.

Scorpius nodded. "They told me that it was an ambush. The description in the letter would have led the Aurors to believe a small group was the best tactic, and they would have been slaughtered by a large group waiting for them,"

I put a hand to my mouth, imagining the bloodshed. How could Scorpius have sent off such a malicious letter? I almost asked, then remembered my conversation with Narcissa. If someone threatened my parents' lives, would I have done the same?

"Thank Merlin you told me to stop it," I said.

"It was a lie, Rose," Scorpius said, pausing for me to look back at him with a confused expression. "That was what they told me when they gave me the letter, but after they thought I had done what they asked, Caroline informed me that there was no ambush, they only wanted to know that they could trust me."

"And they never grew suspicious when no Auror's showed up at the house?"

"For all I know, the letter was blank," he said with a shrug. "And I doubt they expected the Aurors to take the tip even if there was one. All they needed to see was me handing that letter to Albus, then they were satisfied."

I leant my head against Scorpius's chest, letting the thump of his heartbeat guide my thoughts. So much for my cleverness. I knew all about a useless letter and nothing about the people threatening Scorpius and my family.

"It was a fair try," Scorpius said as if reading my thoughts.

"I knew you'd figure a way out of any obvious question," I said, taking his hand. "All I really did was ask about something completely irrelevant."

"You play a dangerous game attempting to outwit a Ravenclaw," he teased. I turned my head to glare at him, only able to hold it for a second before our lips found each other.

I started guiding his hand back to my thigh when he pulled away. "I should go," he said.

"Do you have to?" I whined, putting on my best pouting face.

"Yes," he said, kissing my forehead and ignoring the look that always worked on Dad. I kept it up as he stood and fetched his wand from the coffee table. He turned around and shook his head at my attempt to lure him back. "Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Of course," I said, earning a satisfied smile from him. "See you."

He raised his wand, pausing before spinning to Apparate. I realised his hesitation was because of my open mouth, as I was on the verge of saying something quite damning. I had almost reverted back to our old farewell. I had almost said, "I love you."

The weight of the moment dragged on for what seemed like hours, then Scorpius's smile fell a bit in disappointment before he turned and Disapparated.

I hit the back of my head against the wall. What the hell was I doing? Those words had been right on the tip of my tongue. I wasn't sure what was more unbelievable: that after everything we had been through I had held back from saying it or that after everything he had put me through I _wanted_ to say it. Was that how I felt or was I slipping into an old routine? Did I love him? Did I forgive him?

My head hurt, and not just from knocking it against the wall.

Instead of dwelling on that, I started thinking of ways to get more information. I had managed to get one question, there had to be a way for me to convince him to let me ask more. I thought more about the exchange once I was back home, pulling apart our interaction. He gave me a question essentially as an apology, but I couldn't rely on upsetting him. No, I needed something simpler. Some kind of exchange.

That was the train of thought that eventually led to me arriving at Scorpius's secret flat the next afternoon with a bag of groceries and a freshly pressed dress. By the time Scorpius Apparated inside, a dinner that would make Grandma Weasley proud was spread across his expanded dining table. I stood beside it, presenting the feast in an emerald green dress that wouldn't have worked on anyone but Scorpius. It had no deep neckline and hit the top of my knees, but the classiness was exactly what Scorpius liked. He did glean _some_ traditional preferences from his father.

Scorpius stood frozen, glancing around as if surveying a crime scene. "You… are wearing a dress," he says as if deciding on addressing one odd thing at a time.

"Don't look so shocked," I teased, knowing that out of all the years he'd known me, this might have been only the second or third time he'd seen me in one.

"And you cooked."

"I've spent enough time around my grandma to know a thing or two about food."

"And you lit candles."

I rolled my eyes, though my cheeks flushed pink with his admiration. I had been content with the setup before he arrived, but now I was beyond proud. I could listen to his praises all night, but that was not part of the plan. "Would you quit making observations and sit down already?" I said, moving towards the chair at the head of the table and scooting it out for him.

"Okay," he said with some trepidation. "This seems a bit suspicious, though." I ignored the comment as he took his seat and I sat down next to him.

Luckily, having spent so many nights eating pub food, Scorpius's sceptical glances towards me stopped as soon as he had a single bite of chicken. By the time his plate was empty, he seemed more relaxed, though that might have been the wine.

I stood in the kitchen, clearing the table with a few flicks of my wand, when he finally spoke again. "So tell me… is there a catch to all this?"

"Of course not," I said with a shrug. The dinner wasn't what came with strings attached. All I needed it for was to get Scorpius into a good mood. It seemed to have worked, but all that effort could be snuffed out as easily as a candle flame once I asked for something in return. "Also, 'all this' isn't over yet." I summoned a tin full of cinnamon biscuits from the cupboard and waltzed back to the table, mostly because my feet were too sore from the heels to walk properly.

Scorpius eyed the biscuits as I hopped up on the table and slide myself over to sit in front of him. The heat of my Warming charm sent the sharp scent of cinnamon straight to his nose as I held them out in front of him. He stared at them as if I had offered him a plate full of venomous spiders. "How much of my soul do I have to sell if I take one?"

"Don't be dramatic," I said, but my attempt to brush away his concern did not work. Instead, he continued to give me a dubious look that I knew would not disappear until I gave in. I knew I had to do it eventually, but there was still a part of me that wanted to back out. This could just be a nice dinner, a relaxing evening, and maybe a raucous night, but I couldn't do that. This secret loomed over our relationship like a Dementor. "Alright," I said, straightening up and putting on a serious face, "I want a question for every biscuit."

"Rose," he said, the tinge of humour in his face gone. He moved his chair back and stood up, his hands shoved into his pockets. He walked around his chair, turning his back to me. "This isn't a game."

"I know that!" I said, jumping down from the table and grabbing his arm. "Don't you try to tell me I don't understand the severity of whatever the hell is going on—I can see that in the bags under your eyes—but I can't do this again." I sucked in a breath, preparing myself for my next words. "We tried… I tried not to care about this secret, but every time I think about it, I'm mad with worry."

"I thought you trusted me," he said in a low voice.

"I do, Scorpius, I do!" I held tighter to his arm, trying to make him understand, trying to understand myself as well. Everything was so complicated and my feelings so mixed, I barely knew what I mean anymore. "I trust you to keep me safe and protect me and all that, and I used to trust that you would never lie to me but…" He finally looked at me again. "All this keeping stuff from each other feels more and more like a lie."

My voice cracked, and I hated it for betraying just how weak and helpless I felt. He pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly instead of telling me the truth. It hurt that even these physical comforts weren't comforting anymore.

"Okay," he said, and I questioned whether I really heard him speak or if my mind was starting to feed me hallucination to make me feel better.

I pulled back and looked up at his serious face. "Really?"

He nodded. "But," he said before the warm relief in my chest could spread, "I want rules."

I groaned and stepped away from him to lean against the table with my arms crossed. "I hate rules," I pouted.

"I know you do," he said in a light, teasing voice. I could appreciate his attempt to defuse the tension, but my stomach still felt like it might eject all of its contents to make room for the nerves settling in. Finally, I could ask questions, but the looming answers frightened me as much as they excited me.

"Fine," I said gruffly, lifting myself back on the table and trying not to let my anxiousness show. "What horrible rules do you have in mind?"

The tightness in my voice must have given me away because instead of answering, Scorpius stepped forward so my knees pressed against his stomach. I kept my gaze determinedly downwards as a new tension rose between us. His fingers traced along my crossed arms until my skin tingled. One glided up to my shoulder and over to my neck. When it reached the sensitive spot of my hairline, I finally snapped me head up to look at him. "Stop!" I said, though any bite was lost in the giggle that escaped as well.

He stared down at me with a crooked grin and tapped my nose with a finger. I had to admit that his methods were effective. This would be a difficult conversation no matter what rules Scorpius came up with; we had to begin it in a good place. "The fighting is tiring after awhile," he said.

"I know," I said. "I'm trying."

"As am I." Scorpius's hands brushed against me for one moment longer before settling on the table on either side of me. "Two rules," he said, his voice all business. "First, only questions that can be answered with a 'yes' or 'no'."

I sighed, though cut it off after catching Scorpius's look. "Yeah, alright," I grumbled, rearranging all of my brainstorming thoughts. I should have known he would make this as difficult as possible, but instead of settling into familiar resentment, I worked up as much determination as I would for a Quidditch game. I smirked up at him. "I can handle a challenge."

"Second," he said, not letting me get overconfident, "I decide how many questions something is worth."

I scoffed. "Only if it's a fair assessment. I want the right to challenge if I disagree." Scorpius nodded his head, but before he pulled away, I added, "And no half points. Everything must be worth at least one whole question."

"As practical as always," he said.

"You know me so well."

He smiled but lifted a finger. "And lastly, you repeat absolutely nothing, especially not to your uncle or Albus."

I hesitated to agree to this final condition. I was a terrible liar, and I hated making promises I couldn't keep. The need to find out all I could was powerful enough for me to mutter out, "Fine."

Scorpius settled into his seat again, leaning back to examine the table like a king assessing the worthiness of his knights. His eyes landed on the tin of biscuits. "With your rule in place, I suppose every biscuit will have to be one question," he said before reaching in and taking one. They were small enough that he could finish it with one bite, and his eyes closed as soon as it hit his tongue. "That is what I call unfair," he said after he swallowed. After he finished off another one—and I was gleaming with pride—he added, "You at least have two."

"And what about dinner?" I asked, riding on his good mood. Dinner wasn't supposed to be a part of this, but I had the feeling I could get something for it.

He gave me sceptical look that made me fear he might point out I had promised that dinner came with no strings attached, but then he said, "Three, one for each dish."

I beamed, not caring that showing such joy would most likely kill any chance of getting any more questions. Five was more than I had been expecting.

"And," Scorpius continued, causing my heart to race even more, "one for the dress." I laughed, glad that he recognised it's worth. Then Scorpius grabbed one of my swinging legs and rested it on his lap. "I think the shoes deserve one too, especially since you are somehow still wearing them." He shook his head as he slid my foot out of the pump. I sighed with relief, wiggling my aching toes then lifting my other foot up so he could remove the second.

As he rubbed the soles of my feet, I asked, "So sacred number seven then?"

Scorpius made a face that reminded me of the disgusted, scrunched up face of his grandmother. "No, I have a strong dislike for lucky numbers."

"Ravenclaws never rely on luck do they?'

"Neither do Malfoys." The fingers kneading the arch of my foot massaged their way up my calf. "Anything else you can offer for a trade?" he asked with a mischievous look.

"Maybe," I said with a coy smile. "I could be convinced to be here with a different sort of surprise tomorrow…"

Scorpius chuckled and pinched the back of my knee. "I think that would be worth an added question."

"Just one?" I said, shaking off his hands and poking him in the chest with my toe. "I'm worth more than a biscuit. Dinner got three. Was it really worth three of me?"

"You despise cooking," Scorpius said. "And I hope you find some pleasure in tomorrow's activities."

"Oh, fine, deduct points for enjoyable trades," I said sarcastically, my only defence since I could not argue his logic. "But I am worth more than one."

Scorpius pursed his lips, seeming to debate how worth getting his way would be when compared to how pissed off I would be. "Okay," he said, returning to my foot rub. "It was three for a disliked activity, so how about two for an enjoyable one?"

"Fine," I said, trying not to show too much satisfaction at getting an extra question. "But I'll be expecting two of something in return tomorrow."

"Easy enough," Scorpius said with a shrug and tickled the bottom of my feet until I kicked his hands away. He tamed my legs back into submission and continued the massage for a few quiet moments while I mulled over what nine questions I would ask. "Not to rush you," Scorpius said, breaking me out of my thoughts, "but I should be leaving"—he checked his watch—"as soon as possible."

"Alright, alright," I said, knowing how important it was for Scorpius to not spend too much time in this secret place if he wanted to keep returning to it unnoticed. "Give me one second to think."

He nodded, the pressure of his fingers against my feet less sure than they had been before. His nervousness only increased my own nervousness, but I had no time to linger on that. Instead, I grabbed the question that had been bothering me most since this whole thing started. "Whatever is going on, it concerns my family somehow, doesn't it?"

Without looking up from my feet, he said, "Yes."

I knew how this game was going to be played. One word for each question, that was it. And of course, Scorpius had situated himself so he could look down and keep his face hidden, so even reading his expression was nearly impossible. I sighed but continued on, not wanting to waste time complaining about Scorpius's cleverness. "This isn't some sort of… Death Eater resurgence, is it?"

Scorpius's fingers paused, and after a moment, he leant his head back in the chair with a frustrated groan.

"It's a yes or no question," I said, just in case he thought about not answering.

"Yes, but neither of them answer the question." He sighed again, closing his eyes in order to compose an answer. Finally, he opened his eyes and returned to massaging my ankles. "There is some Death Eater involvement," he said, obviously using as few words as possible, "but not Death Eater goals."

"So not a blood purist group," I muttered. Scorpius nodded his head and I added, "That wasn't a question."

"I know," Scorpius said, a touch of humour trying to enter his face but failing.

"And not a revenge on my uncle for killing Tom Riddle, right?" I hated to waste a question on something I was pretty sure I knew the answer to, but with Scorpius, I needed to tease out all of the technicalities.

"…No." His hesitation gave me more answers than his word.

"But it is a revenge group?"

Again, Scorpius hesitated. "Yes."

The most obvious next question was revenge on who exactly, but that would be breaking the rules. I hated blind guessing, so instead concentrated on trying to figure out exactly what the revenge was for. "So someone wants revenge on someone in my family, but not for something that happened during the war…" I muttered, thinking out loud.

Scorpius's fingers fumbled in their movements, and my eyes darted to him, hoping for an explanation. He kept quiet for a moment, but eventually my stare broke him down enough for him to look up and give me a meaningful look.

I had missed something or assumed something that wasn't true. I thought back to his words, and there weren't many. It only took me a few seconds to realise my mistake. "Not about Riddle but not necessarily not about the war."

Again, Scorpius's hands flinched against my skin and his lips were pursed. I groaned. "What are you making faces for?" Scorpius did not answer, probably because it wasn't a yes/no question and that would be breaking his own rule. I tried to calm myself down and figure out what it meant on my own. It seemed that these questions were too broad to be answered. Somehow, whatever this was, landed in the grey area between being about the war and not being about the war. Bloody hell, I would probably be better guessing at the who rather than fumbling around this confusing what.

"Does this have anything to do with my Uncle Harry?"

Again, he hesitated, something I should have expected by now. "Yes… in a way."

"In a way," I repeated bitterly, trying to decipher what the hell that meant. Why in Merlin's name was this so difficult? Was this group organised at all? And that's when an idea hit me. "Scorpius," I said, saying his name to give me time to think while also warning him that I thought I was finally on to something, "does this group have more than one motive?"

"Yes," he said, no hesitation this time and a slight tone of relief in his voice that made me think he might actually want me to figure this out.

"So part of the group wants revenge against my uncle?" I said, not realising how wasteful of the question I was being until it was out of my mouth.

"…In a way."

"Merlin's bloody toenails!" I shouted in frustration, accidentally kicking Scorpius in the chest. How the hell could these _sort of_ Death Eaters _sort of_ want revenge on Harry Potter because of something that _didn't_ happen during the war but still had something to do with it? That's when it clicked. "The Aurors," I said. "Part of them want revenge on the Aurors?"

Scorpius nodded. "Exactly." His tone was a mix of pride for me finally having solved part of the puzzle as well as reluctance to answer.

Well, this particular puzzle didn't give me much to work with. There were countless people who would want revenge on even just one Auror, let alone the entire department. Stuck with where to go next, I continued to think out loud, hoping that it would prompt Scorpius into giving away something else. "That explains why your cousin is involved, as well as all of his half-siblings, including that seedy bartender bloke. And Nott too. But why is Worthington involved?"

Scorpius's hands tightened painfully on my feet for a moment, nearly making me shout in shock. I though he would try to pretend the moment never happened, but instead, he said, "She become involved due to company, not motivation."

"That wasn't a yes/no question," I said, not sure what else to say.

"Nor was it a yes or no answer." Then, as if the conversation had never happened, the tension in Scorpius's face faded and his hands returned to their work.

The next few seconds passed silently, both because I could not help but feel jealous of Worthington, _again_ , and because I only had one question left and could not waste it. What questions did I want, no, _need_ to be answered?

If half of this organisation wanted the Aurors to pay for putting away dark witches and wizards, what did the other half want? And what did my family have to do with it? Sure, Uncle Harry and Molly were Aurors, but if these people wanted to use Scorpius to get close to them, why not send him after Lily? Or Lucy? Why me? Was it just because of our history? None of it made any sense. Somehow, I was important enough to keep Scorpius in these people's good graces for a while and also important enough that, now, our relationship had to be kept a secret. And yet, I was not an effective means to get to the Aurors. Whatever second motivation they had, it somehow involved my immediate family… or maybe…

"Scorpius," I said. His hands stilled as I asked my final question. "I'm part of what they want, aren't I?"

He did not answer as he gently picked my legs off of his lap. Another moment passed in silence before he said so quickly I almost couldn't hear him, "Yes."

The confirmation landed like a weight on my heart, knocking it down through my stomach and all the way to the basement of the building. Before I could say anything, though, Scorpius stood from his chair and held me so tight it hurt. "You have nothing to be scared of, Rose," he said into my hair. "I promise to do everything I can to keep you safe."

I was too choked up to tell him that was exactly what I was afraid of.

Despite my tears, I pushed Scorpius away after only a minute and insisted that he leave. He would have protested, but I was right. If he stayed much longer, his absence from the pub would be noticed. He had to leave.

Once alone, I contemplated all the new things I had learned, but my mind kept going back to his words: "I promise to do everything I can to keep you safe." They tore at my heart each time they repeated in my head until I was sitting on the table, kneels curled up to my chest, shaking and crying and trying to stop myself from thinking about Scorpius dying for me. I let the emotions surge through me in aching sobs, needing to get all of it out while I was alone. I could never let Scorpius know how much it ripped me apart thinking that he was putting himself in danger for my sake. It would be unfair to him because I would do the same.

So the next day, instead of telling him—or screaming at him—that I didn't need his protection, or that it would hurt me more if he was hurt rather than me, or that he should let the Aurors—the people he worked with—know everything so that they could handle it, I arrived at his flat right after work, cleaned off in his shower, wrapped myself in his bathrobe, and tucked myself into his bed. Then I waited to earn those last two questions.

When Scorpius Apparated to the flat and found me in his bedroom, very little time was wasted on discussing our previous conversation. In fact, the discussion consisted of only three questions and three answers.

"How are you?"

"Perfectly fine… Can I ask one more question?"

"I thought you were out of questions."

It's not one of those… Do you still love me?"

"Yes."

~oOo~

I stand from the table, taking a deep breath in order to prepare myself to leave. It's another stalling tactic, but I need all the excuses to stall that I can get. I'm quickly running out of them. I try to think of something else to say to Scorpius, but there's nothing. I'm watching him watching me. I search his eyes for those unspoken words. Even if we don't get the blissful farewell that our story deserves, I at least want our last moment to have some sort of meaning. I want to be able to look back at this moment and feel like we are still connected, that our time together did not end so unsatisfactory, that I could feel an overwhelming, unconditional love for him and see that same love reflected back in his eyes, and I could hold on to that feeling as he rots away in Azkaban and I return to my content, boring life.

None of those things happen, though. I only see his grey eyes, dark as smoke. I feel nothing but frustration and disappointment. I feel like a failure. I feel like I will return to this exact moment in dreams and memories for years to come, wishing that Scorpius was a different kind of person.

I break away from his eyes, unable to look any longer. This is it. This is where I leave.

My foot lifts to take a step back, and Scorpius reaches his hands out to take mine. He doesn't hold it. His pale fingers rest against my freckled hands, not clasping or grasping, just there. I feel a new callous on his finger from holding his wand too tightly that had not been there during our Hogwarts days, and there is a scar in the crease between his thumb and index finger that has been there for as long as I've known him—a paper cut from first year never magically healed so it didn't magically not scar.

Then all the feelings I thought I couldn't feel crash into me.

I don't hear the door open, but Scorpius's fingers suddenly grab mine and bring me back to the moment. I hear a footstep behind me but am too scared to turn around. This is it. My time is up, and it's only now that Scorpius looks ready to protest. He's gone pale and his hand shakes in my grip. Perhaps the finality of all this is finally hitting him.

"Rosie?" Dad says, and I hear his approaching footsteps. "It's time to go."

"I know." I say, the words so quiet I'm not sure if I actually sad them out loud or not. I look at Scorpius one last time, but his eyes are glued to my dad. I can't say I'm not disappointed that he won't look at me again, but it'll probably make this easier. I step back, forcing myself to walk away no matter how much it hurts, but as my hands begin to slip out of Scorpius's grip, his fingers tightened around mine and stopped me from walking any further. "Scorpius?" I say quietly.

He cuts me off with his much louder shout. "What are you doing here?"

"Excuse me?" Dad says, appearing at my shoulder with a furious look like he's ready to let all of his frustration with me out on Scorpius. Mum, who I hadn't noticed standing in the doorway, hurries to grab my dad's arm before he can get to Scorpius's side of the table.

"All of you need to leave," Scorpius says as he stands, withdrawing his hands from mine only to slap them on the table. "Now."

"You listen here," Dad starts, waving a menacing finger, but Mum cuts him off.

"Scorpius, what is going on?" she asks in a calm voice.

"There's no time to explain," Scorpius says, his words running into each other as he forces them out as quick as possible. He's on the other side of the table before I realise he even moved. Grayson and Uncle Harry are in the interrogation room now too, cramping the space. Scorpius brushes by me as he walks towards them. "I'll tell you everything," he says, then points at me and my parents, "if they leave the Ministry. Now."

"I don't know if that's a deal we can make," Grayson says, though she glances at us as if considering it.

"That is the only deal I am willing to make," Scorpius say, careful measurement returning to his words.

Grayson sizes him up for a moment, debating the ultimatum until it's obvious to everyone in the room that sending the Head of the department home is worth Scorpius's intel. "Okay."

"No!" The word flies out of my mouth before I'm aware it's on my tongue. I grab Scorpius's arm, forcing him to turn around and face me. "I'm not leaving," I tell him.

"Please, Rose," he says, grabbing my arms and holding so tight it hurts.

I glare at him because he knows how much it means for me to get answers after all this time, how much it hurts that he'll finally divulge his secrets if only I'll leave. "Why?" I spit out, using my one last chance to find out what is going on.

"Because this is what they have been waiting for," he says, leaning closer to me until our forehead nearly touch. "This is the opportunity they have been waiting for."

My gut feels like it's flipped over on itself. I shake my head, not wanting it to be true, not now, not yet. I'm not ready.

"What opportunity?" Dad growls, looking ready to yank me out of Scorpius's grasp despite my hand now holding on to him just as tightly.

Before either of us can answer, a loud crash echoes through the corridor and rattles the floor. "What was that?" Grayson asks as if the crash had been a direct insult towards her authority. Then the calm detached voice I've only ever heard in the Ministry lifts speaks.

"The Ministry of Magic has been infiltrated. Please report to your designated safe area and wait for further instruction. All Aurors are to report to the Auror department."

* * *

 **End Note:** Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Be prepared because the next chapter will be a little different than the rest. Look forward to it! As always, thank you for all of the reviews, follows, and faves. It all means so much to me and lets me know you like what you're reading. And there're only four more chapters to go! On another note, I am currently finishing up writing the last chapter for this, which means I will soon be starting to write my next chaptered fic. I'd love to know which of my ideas you would be most interested in reading next, so please head over to my profile and answer the poll that's there. It would mean a lot to me if you took the time to do so, and it means a better chance if me publishing another chaptered story that you'll enjoy! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 _we both want it but love is not enough you see_

 _._

I returned to my flat that night to a pile of post that had been building up for the past three days. I thought perhaps I had been spending too much time at Scorpius's secret flat, but as soon as I thought of that place again, I also thought of how Scorpius had kissed my nose before Disapparating and all sense of regret disappeared. Instead, I pushed my way through the exhaustion to pick my way though the letters for any that seemed important.

Unsurprisingly, most of the letters were for Isa, who seemed unable to find her own mail without me there to hand it to her. Among my own post, the only ones requiring my attention were a trio of letters that grew in length as Lily grew in anxiousness at my silence. The last one contained a warning that she would be showing up at the flat to make sure I was still alive. Considering the fact that the only time I had spent at my flat recently was to make a quick dinner before Disapparating to Scorpius's, it was a miracle my entire family—including aunts, uncles, and cousins—was not currently at my flat.

"Your cousin came by earlier," Isa said from the doorway of her bedroom, making me jump in surprise. "Don't worry, I told her that you've been staying late at work and not sneaking off to who-knows-where for hours at a time." Before I even turned around, I could sense the accusing look Isa was giving me.

"Why do I have the feeling you already know where I've been?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know where… but I have a good idea of who." Isa winked before spinning and flicking her long black hair over her shoulder. "You're going to Diagon Alley with your cousins tomorrow at six," she said over her shoulder as she walked back into her room.

"Thanks!" I shouted as she disappeared into the darkness.

"Goodnight you secret-keeping brat."

I chuckled and shook my head before sitting down to write a quick reply to Lily that the message had made it to me and I would be in Diagon Alley tomorrow. As I grabbed a piece of parchment, though, I realised that seeing my cousins tomorrow meant that I wouldn't be able to wait for Scorpius at his flat. Immediately my mood dampened, especially considering the night we had just spent together. A family evening out seemed so unpleasurable in comparison.

Despite how much I wanted to decline Lily's invitation and have a repeat of the last night, I sent Collette off with an affirmation, then started on a letter to Scorpius. I knew that getting into any sort of contact with him outside his hidden flat was risky, but I was not willing to risk losing him again after just reconnecting. He had opened up to me so much, and I feared my sudden absence would close him up again. I had to risk letting him know I wouldn't be at his flat, and if I made sure the letter didn't trace back to me, what was the harm?

The message was short and unsigned: _I have to cancel our usual meeting for tomorrow. We can continue our conversation Tuesday._ Anyone else who happened to read it would most likely assume it was from another Auror or someone else in the Ministry, but Scorpius would know exactly who had sent it and what it meant by the lack of a signature.

It was late in the evening, but I put on a jacket and headed for the Leaky Cauldron. Using either Colette or Isa's owl would be too obvious. My only chance was the Diagon Alley owl post, and though it would cost me a knut, it would be worth it to keep our secret safe.

~oOo~

Scorpius Apparated back to the Fawkes and Viksin Pub and took his regular seat at the end of the bar where he could be seen from every corner of the pub without looking like he _wanted_ to be seen from every corner of the pub.

"So what'll it be today?" Bass asked as he sauntered towards Scorpius. "Another dry night?"

"That it is," Scorpius said, "but the rest of my usual is fine." He slid a couple of sickles across the table, glancing around the empty pub just in case a Muggle happened to walk by.

Bass pocketed the money but made no move to fetch Scorpius his food. "Y'know, these last few days have been a bit odd with you," he said casually, though the glint in his eyes warned Scorpius that this was an important conversation. "You come here for a meal and a pint around the same time every day for a few months, then that Weasley girl comes along and suddenly I never know when I'm going to see you or if you'll be refusing a pint… or drinking like a grindylow."

Scorpius flinched at the mention of last night. After answering Rose's questions, the guilt weighed on his heart. One pint had turned into two which had turned into quite a few glasses of firewhisky. He had barely made it back home, but it was better than thinking about the danger he was putting Rose in by telling her even the small bit that he had. He ignored the sting that Bass's words caused him and replied as cooly as he could. "You can pass along the message that after _you_ tampered with her drink, she wanted nothing to do with me."

Bass chuckled, catching Scorpius off guard, though he kept a straight face to hide it. "You know, Scor," he said, the nickname sounding like talons on glass, "it's kind of a funny thing. First, this bird hates you for breaking up with her, conveniently right before my dear little half-brother Jasper asked for your help getting close to her, then a year later, she hates you again because your grandparents made a few rude comments to her, and now she hates you once again for… what exactly? Thinking you told me to spike her drink? See, Scor, much more important people than me are starting think you're lying when you say you're doing all you can to win her back. In fact, there are some whisperings that you are doing the exact opposite. Or worse, you've already won her back and are keeping it a secret." He whispered the last two words, leaning towards Scorpius with a sleazy smirk.

"I think you spend too much time behind that bar," Scorpius said, refusing to lean any closer to Bass. "So you want to tell me why you poisoned her drink that night?"

"Poison? That's such a strong word." Bass waved away the accusation as if he did nothing wrong. "I may have merely added a pinch or two of an intoxication enhancing substance to her drink, though, on second thought, my pinches can be rather… large."

Scorpius's skin crawled as he thought of all the substances Bass could be referring to. He wanted to curse that smirk off of Bass's face, but Scorpius knew that would get him no where. Instead, he forced his shoulders to relax and shut the image of Rose slumped on the floor from him mind. "And what exactly was the point then? Were you thinking that, after my failure to charm Rose, you would somehow take my place?"

"No one could replace you, Scor," Bass said with a wink. "Perhaps I had realized that you would be arriving soon and wouldn't be able to resist swooping in like Godric Gryffindor and saving the poor girl. Perhaps I had wanted to rekindle your relationship so all of our plans could get back on track…"

Of course, Scorpius already suspected that had been Bass's plan. This particular Zabini wasn't the brightest. Still, hearing him boast like he'd already won made Scorpius's jaw clench. He couldn't stand the idea of Rose being used to force his cooperation. That was the whole reason he'd stayed away from her seventh year, then had kept away from her after she had broken up with him a year ago. Everything had been going so well until she found her way to this pub. "What can I say, Bass?" Scorpius asked in a tense voice. "She despises me because of you. I think it best we continue working on a Plan B."

Bass sucked in air through his teeth and shook his head. "Now, you see, the girls don't like Plan B. They like the original plan. And you don't want to disappoint the girls now, do you Scor?"

Scorpius pursed his lips, not having been amused by Bass's games at the start but now thoroughly annoyed. "What would you have me say, Bass?"

"The truth, mate." Bass reached beneath the counter and brought up a shallow glass filled with an amber drink. He slid it in front of Scorpius and beamed that mischievous grin. "Have a drink, Scor, and let's have a truthful chat."

There was Veritaserum in that drink, Scorpius had not doubt. He couldn't drink it. He couldn't get up and leave either. He had stayed with Rose longer than he should have, and now he had to stay long enough for Bass to forget exactly how much time had passed since Scorpius arrived. If he left before that, he would have a substantial amount of unaccounted for time that, if noticed, he would have no alibi for.

He considered taking the drink. His father had trained him in Occlumency in his fifth year, and Scorpius had caught on naturally despite his doubts that he would ever need it. Now, training to be an Auror and facing a dose of Veritaserum, he was thankful for those lessons. But could he risk it? Could he risk Rose like that? He had confidence, but not enough to trust himself not to give away his rekindled relationship with her, to keep Bass away from the information that would have the girls asking him, once again, to lure her into the perfect position for their plan. If he refused, Rose would be captured in an instant, the plan abandoned, and they'd kill her in front of him just like they did Claire.

No, he would not risk her life like that. He would not let them threaten him into helping them again. "Have a good evening, Bass," Scorpius said with a polite nod before getting up from his stool.

As he walked towards the entrance of the pub, he glanced around for anything to keep him there. There were booths he could sit at and be served by their single waitress, but Bass would find a way to tamper with his food or drink. Scorpius couldn't trust anything consumable here. There were a few groups of people, none that looked inviting, and then there was dear old Dedalus Diggle. As usual, the old man was surrounded by university girls at the pool table, showing off his best moves.

Scorpius met the old man's eye for only a moment, then Dedalus waved him over with a hearty laugh that sounded strange coming from such a thin fellow. "Leaving my pub already?" he shouted across the room. "I won't hear of it! You've been here three months and not once played a game with me. I should be offended." As Scorpius approached, Dedalus tossed a cue stick at him. Scorpius gave him a thankful smile.

They played three games, and Scorpius loss every single one. "Beginner's luck doesn't seem to be on your side tonight, lad," Dedalus teased as he sunk in another ball. A few of the uni girls tried to bandage his ego with coos of encouragement, but Scorpius kept up an air of sullenness to deter them. Each time he looked at one of them, all he could see was Rose and the danger he had put her in by allowing himself the simple pleasure of her company. It had been a mistake, a desperate fumble on his part. After Claire died, he should have been desperate to keep away from Rose, but instead, all he had wanted to do was hold her closer. His love for her was the most dangerous weapon the girls could use against them both. He hit the cue ball too hard and it flew across the table, not hitting a single thing before it hopped the edge and crashed to the floor.

"I believe that's enough of that," Dedalus said.

At least it had now been long enough for Scorpius to return home. He took his time on his walk, allowing his thoughts to travel along Rose's path. As much as it hurt, he knew there was only one solution to their problem. He had to end things. Again. The safest place for Rose was far away from him, and if she hated him for that, then all the better. Maybe that would help keep her away this time.

Then he brought up all of the good memories they had from the past few days. Despite their bickering, being near her at all was a relief. He sorted through all those little moments, every small brush of their hands, every gentle smile, every sound of his name coming from her mouth. He wanted to remember all of it. His thoughts were so focused, for a moment, he even thought he saw her leaving the Leaky Cauldron as he crossed the street.

By the time he reached his flat, he had packed away all of his thoughts into their boxes and cleared his mind. Unexpected visitors were no longer a surprise, so he prepared himself for the worst.

And he opened his door to the worst.

"Hello, Scorpius," Evangeline Dolohov said. She lounged in an armchair, her legs crossed and elbows placed on the armrests. She had the face of a Dolohov: a square chin, round nose, and almond eyes. She could have passed for a Black with her dark hair and forever stern expression, though with the Sacred Twenty-Eight, it wouldn't have surprised Scorpius to find some relations between the two families.

"How can I help you?" Scorpius asked, keeping his voice calm. It had been a long time since he'd seen Evangeline, leader of this little operation. Most times, she sent instructions along through his grandfather, though his failing health meant that no matter what threats she posed against Scorpius's parents, Lucius simply couldn't cooperate. Recently, Scorpius grew used to seeing one of Evangeline's sisters. Sometimes it was Melinda, who was only a few years younger than Evangeline, though her tired face made her look about a decade older, but most times it was Antonia, the sister who was only thirty. He supposed sending the youngest sister was supposed to be an insult, but he preferred that to the trouble that was bound to come from Evangeline's appearance.

"Oh, dear Scorpius," she said, tilting her head in a way that matched her playful tone, "I do believe we have a problem."

This was bad. Scorpius knew that, but he had been in tough situations before. He could talk himself out of this, he was sure. Trying to show his nonchalance, he closed the door of his flat and removed his coat, setting it on the table. His wand was in his pocket, sticking out enough for Evangeline to see, but Scorpius remained standing beside the table and within easy reach if the conversation came to that. "And what exactly is this problem?" he asked. "Is it the same one that Bass brought up to me tonight? Because, I can tell you, that is resolved."

Evangeline's brow twitched with interest. "Has it? Because Bass has yet to inform me of your confession to seeing that girl." Her smooth tone hardened at the last word, her lip curling slightly at even the mention of Rose, but it fell back into a distrustful smile a moment later.

"What he should tell you is that he was mistaken," Scorpius said, trying to let in enough bite in his voice to show annoyance at Bass but not enough to seem defensive. "Though, I can see why he is avoiding telling you. After all, it was his sad attempt to reunite Rose and me that resulted in her renewed cold-shoulder towards me."

"Scorpius," Evangeline sighed, lifting herself out of her chair in a lazy manor like she had just announced it late and time for her to retire home. "You are quite the charming talker, always so confident in your lies, but the time has come for the lies and games to stop." As she walked towards him, her lazy tone hardened into a stern voice. Her dark eyes gleamed with malice as she stopped in front of him. "You have had many chances Scorpius, but you've been living under this delusion that you can somehow save her."

Evangeline gave a wicked smile before strolling away again. Scorpius forced his white-knuckled hand to release its fist. "My feelings for her are history—"

"The same story again and again, Scorpius, but it's all fiction," she said, waving her hand to dismiss his words, then producing a letter from her pocket. "You see, once Bass brought his suspicions to our attention, I decided to look into the matter myself. And do you know what I found?" She looked at Scorpius with wide expectant eyes as if he would really take a guess. "I found Rose absent from her home at the same time you somehow got yourself lost for an hour and a half between the entrance to Bass's pub and the bar." Scorpius felt sick but tried not to show it. He kept a steady gaze on Evangeline, resisting the urge to glance towards his wand.

"And then, little Lily Potter arrived," she continued, still waving around the letter. "She seemed as anxious about Rose's disappearance as I was. Turns out, she's been ignoring Lily's invitation to a trip to Diagon Alley. And then, just before I left, who should arrive back home but your one true love? Desperate to contact you, she went all the way to the Diagon Alley owl post to deliver this letter." She flicked the parchment into the air as if Scorpius had forgotten about it. "She tried so hard to be clever: using an anonymous owl, not signing her name, even making the letter out to be from a co-worker, cancelling your 'usual meeting.' Her eyes flickered down to read from the letter, then looked up at Scorpius with a deathly glare. "I won't ask how long those meetings have been going on."

Scorpius's mind raced for a story that would cover all of this up. Was it worse or better for Evangeline to know the truth, that he and Rose had just started seeing each other again? Could he play it off by saying he had wanted to regain her trust before telling anyone? Maybe he could even convince her that it was Lily he was seeing, Lily who had written the letter and asked Rose to deliver it.

Evangeline didn't give him any time to say one word, let alone a whole new story. "Scorpius, we knew that we were taking a risk when we asked for your help. We knew that your love for Rose would cloud your judgement, and it seems that our offers to make her death quick and painless haven't unclouded you judgement. It seems now that my only choice is something slow and torturous."

A deep rage burned in Scorpius's chest, and he could not help his instinctive reach for his wand. Before his fingers were even close, though, Evangeline had already summoned it. His fire of anger blew out into the ashes of defenselessness. How could he have been so big-headed to think he could talk his way out of this? It had worked too many times before, he should have known Evangeline would stop believing him one day.

She chuckled as she waved around his wand. "I was going to simply stun you and continue on with our back-up plan, however, a new idea just occurred to me. Yes, a punishment that will thoroughly show you the error of your ways." She eyed his wand in a way that showed how much pleasure this new idea brought to her and how much pain it would inevitably bring upon him.

Evangeline paced around the room, keeping her eyes on Scorpius at all times. He knew this trick. She was making sure his eyes followed her instead of darting around the room for an escape plan. If he failed, she'd stun him or bind him or worse. He kept his gaze on her, paying close attention to her every word. "You see," she said, "we've heard word your secret significant other will be in Diagon Alley tomorrow. Safe enough, one would think, but wouldn't it be quite the tragedy if something unfortunate were to happen to her?"

A deep cold settled over Scorpius. Tomorrow? That gave him so little time. Hopelessness was getting harder and harder to fight off as Evangeline continued. "Just think of the headlines. _Rose Weasley Killed In Diagon Alley: Her Ex-Lover's Wand Found At The Scene_." She was practically giggling with excitement as she toyed with Scorpius's wand.

His heart froze and his hands shook. He fought through his emotions, pushing away the thought of sitting in front of the Wizengamot while they accused him of murder, of murdering Rose. No, that would not happen. He would figure it out. She was not going to die.

"And even if you tell them the truth," Evangeline continued to taunt, "who will believe you?" She smiled widely as she walked towards him, tucking his wand into her curly mess of hair. Her own wand was trained on his forehead. "I've been working on a new spell, Scorpius, one that would make Daddy dearest proud." Her lips quivered into a half-snarl as she mentioned her father, contorting her delighted expression into one of chaos. "Now, I'm not sure how long it will last. Perhaps a few hours or a few days. Hopefully not weeks. I would much rather see you behind bars than dead."

The end of her wand glowed purple. Scorpius attempted to take a step back, but his back met the table and stopped him. He reached behind himself for anything he could use as weapon, but his cleanliness made sure it was bare. He already had a plan, one that involved hopping up on the table and using both legs to kick Evangeline away, but suddenly, his limbs felt too heavy to even lift to his stomach.

"I would say 'this won't hurt' but, honestly, I have no idea how it feels," Evangeline said, her dark eyes reflecting the purple light as Scorpius's vision blackened around the edges. He felt the warm tip of her wand brush across his forehead, and a fiery pain ignited inside his skull.

Black.

Everything was black.

Scorpius had only been knocked unconscious once before, way back during his second Quidditch game. Molly Weasley had sent a bludger straight to his head, on accident, of course. Hufflepuff had won, he remembered that. He did not remember feeling like this: awake and encased in darkness.

He wiggled his toes and brought a hand to his forehead, realising that he _was_ awake.

Rose. Rose. Rose.

Panic took over. She had to be alive. He had to have more time to save her. It must be night. No, it was too dark for even that. Was he too late? When would she leave for Diagon Alley? She must not be there yet. She couldn't. He had to find her. Where was he?

His hands found walls close on every side. When he reached up, he did not touch a ceiling. A hole perhaps? He looked up, but that direction was just as dark as all the others.

Wait. He forced his mind to stop spinning into more and more doomed situations. No, he had to remember what Evangeline had said. She wanted him to be found, wanted him to be caught. Wherever he was, it had to be someplace where he could be found… Or someplace he could get out of himself.

Flying without a broom or wand was impossible without dark magic and not in Scorpius's repertoire. Up was not the way out. One of those walls had to be they key. He pressed against each one, ignoring the aching flames still scorching through his muscles each time he tensed them. The wall in front of him had the most give. That had to be it.

Scorpius pressed his hands against the wood, concentrating on that magical energy that he used when blocking Evangeline and Bass from his thoughts. Instead of forming it into a wall around his mind and compressing it into an impenetrable box, he forced it out towards the wall in front of him.

The wall shuttered but did not move. Scorpius could only contain his frustration for a few seconds before his hands were slamming against the unmoving wall. The physical effort did nothing.

Exhausted, Scorpius slumped against the back wall. What was he supposed to do then? There was only so much wandless magic he could do, and he had to get out of there. He had to find Rose before it was too late. He could not bear to think that he might be too late already.

How else could he escape there without blowing open what seemed to be a door? A door. Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way. He placed his hands against the wood a second time, but instead of focusing his magic on an outward force, this time he urged the wood to slide to his right, then his left, then his right again. With a screech, the wall surged to the side.

The light blinded Scorpius, but he wasted no time crawling out from the small space. He squinted around the room, able to see through the bright sunlight well enough to recognise his own flat. There were no looming shadows of Aurors, and that could only be a good thing. It meant they weren't after him yet. Or maybe they had already searched the flat and couldn't find him. No, that was not it. It could not be it.

He looked over his shoulder to see the space behind his wall already disappearing behind the sliding door, probably disappearing altogether, but that didn't matter now. What mattered was that he knew where he was and knew how to get to Rose.

His wand was long gone, and he was forced to rely on his feet. Auror training had prepared him for moments like this, so with his eyesight still splotchy, Scorpius forced his stiff legs to stand and hurry out the door. He stumbled into a few walls and nearly tumbled down the back staircase, but by the time he emerged outside, his legs were loosened and worked fast to propel him down the streets.

The afternoon sun was high in the sky, scorching down the back of his neck and causing perspiration to gather along his hairline before he even reached the shops. Then, he had to swerve between people, not giving anyone without red hair a second glance. Maybe that was Evangeline's plan all along? If something were to happen to Rose now, almost everyone in Diagon Alley world report seeing Scorpius sprinting through the streets. Well, if that was the plan, fine. He would not hide himself away when he had the chance to save Rose's life.

He did not see her anywhere on the street or in the Leaky Cauldron. He only glanced around the pub twice before running through it as quickly as before. He spilt several drinks on his way, but the shouting passed over him like air. What did he care if he was never welcomed there again? He would worry about that another time.

Fortunately, the streets of Muggle London were less crowded. Most everyone would be at work and there were only a few stragglers returning from their lunch break. Scorpius managed not to run into anyone, though a rough looking man attempted to grab his arm, asking if he were alright. Scorpius broke free of his grip, thinking the man was probably a Muggle Auror on his day off, but he wasn't in uniform so Scorpius held no respect for him that day. He ignored the shouts that followed, not slowing his run until he crashed into the door of Rose's flat building. He rung every bell until the lock clicked open.

The short pause allowed his fatigue to catch up with him. Maybe the spell hadn't completely worn off yet. The foggy part of his brain thought the sofa in the lobby looked comfortable enough to lay on, but the adrenalized section urged him up the five flights of stairs to Rose's floor.

Her and Isa's flat were only three doors down, and he made it there in less than a second. His fist pounded against the door while he was already wondering if he had enough wandless magic left in him to blow it open on his own.

The door opened to a very unhappy Rose in a robe, water dripping off the ends her hair. Her glare fell into complete shock as soon as she looked up at him. "Scorpius?"

Before she could say anything more, Scorpius had stepped inside, shut the door, and grabbed her into a tight embrace. He barely noticed that he was mumbling into her hair. "You're alive. Rose, you're alive."

Her arms took a few moments to react but eventually wrapped around him and patted his back. He knew she was confused, possibly frightened, but all his foggy mind could process was her body in his arms. She was safe. That was all that mattered. He never wanted to let go.

"Scorpius?" Rose said again, wriggling out of his hold enough to look into his face. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing." His mind couldn't conjure any more words than that. All he could focus on was the space between him and Rose, and he pulled her close again.

"You look like shit," she muttered against his shirt, but he did not have the energy to chuckle. In fact, he barely had the energy to stand. He realised how much she was supporting him, practically holding him up. The world moved sluggishly as Rose manoeuvred herself to his side, both arms around his waist, and guided him toward her room. "Come on," she said. "I think you need to lay down."

He sat hard on her bed but refused to lay down. Sleep was urging him back into unconsciousness, but he had to make sure she was safe first. "Stay," he said, keeping a strong grip around her so she couldn't walk away. She gave him a confused look. "Stay," he repeated, reaching for her with his other arm. "Stay here. Stay with me."

"What's happened?" she asked, refusing to be pulled into him. She grabbed his shoulders, the grip sending dull pains down his back. She must have seen his grimace because her hold loosened. "Scorpius, tell me, did something happen?"

"No, everything is fine." Everything was more than fine in his opinion. Nothing could be more fine than Rose standing in front of him. It didn't matter that her surprise and concern was melting into frustration.

She glared at him, maybe wondering if he was lying or hoping that silence would coax him into talking. When it didn't work, she sighed and rubbed off the sweat on his brow. Her expression was troubled, her eyes glistening and lip trembling. He tried to bring her closer, but she would not be moved. After smoothing back his hair for a moment, she finally said, "It's me, isn't it? They want.. they want me. I'm the target."

He stayed silent. Now was not the time for divulging information. Not yet. Not to her. If Albus or his father was there, perhaps, but not Rose. The last thing she needed to hear was that her death was the main goal in all of this. She was too selfless to be trusted with that information.

"Scorpius." Her scolding made him tense. They were back here again with Rose asking questions and Scorpius avoiding answers. He hated these moments. All they did was remind him what he was a part of, even if it wasn't voluntary. Her every accusation reminded him of her brother and how he would never be able to make up for nearly killing Hugo. "Answer me," she said, her grip on his shoulder tightening again. "Answer me or I'm leaving." She stepped back and broke free of his hold, his muscles still too weak to stop her.

"Yes," he said as soon as she slid from his fingertips. "Yes." He scolded himself for being so desperate for her touch, desperate enough to tell her this truth that could only hurt her. It was so selfish and irresponsible, and even her comforting touch as she took his hands again did nothing to ease his guilt.

"So why haven't they killed me yet?" she asked. Her blunt question left him short of breath and his heart racing. She kept going, unaware of the turmoil she was causing him. "They know where I live—it's not exactly a secret—and it's not like I stay cooped up in my flat all day. They've had so many chances to off me, so what are they waiting for?"

Before she could go on, Scorpius stood to stop her, stumbling at the effort. Rose steadied him and helped him back to the bed, muttering apologies. She sat beside him with one hand on his back and the other on his knee, keeping him from falling forward or backwards. Scorpius struggled to even keep his eyes open, but he made his mouth open and say, "The right opportunity… They're waiting for the right, no, the _perfect_ opportunity."

He must have looked as bad as he felt because she did not push him for more answers. Instead, she insisted that he lay down and rest. He attempted to fight her off, but Evangeline's spell had either not yet worn off or had draining side effects. She wasn't kidding when she called it 'experimental'.

After settling a blanket over him, Rose turned to walk away. Scorpius grabbed for her hand, missing, but made some sort of noise that got Rose's attention. "I have to tell my cousins I won't be at Diagon Alley today," she said, kneeling beside him and tucking his hand beneath the blanket again. "Unless of course you want a mob of angry Weasley women knocking down my door and finding me in bed with you."

Scorpius did not have the energy to laugh, but he smiled and nodded as she walked towards her vanity where her wand sat. She muttered a spell under her breath, and a silvery fox soared out from her wand and danced around the room. He missed Rose's other wand movements that summoned the fox back to her before she knelt down and appeared to be speaking to it. Scorpius had little time to ponder what strange magic she was doing. Before Rose's words reached his ears, darkness had consumed him again.

Scorpius woke hours later to the evening darkness. Instead of the dazed feeling he had when waking up inside his own wall, this time he felt completely rested and got out of bed quickly. Rose was curled up on her side, her now dry but overly frizzy curls hiding her face, and she held on open book close to her chest.

What he wanted and needed to do was never so opposite than that moment. Scorpius wanted to wake Rose with a kiss, take her out for a late dinner, then bring her back to this very room and try to express how grateful he was that she alive, that he could see her, that he could still touch her. In fact, he could have skipped dinner. But even before last night, that would have been a dream. Now, the situation was only worse.

He left the room, closing the door behind him, and went straight for Colette's owl perch. Rose had purchased one that doubled as a drawer, and Scorpius gently opened it and took out a quill, an envelope, and parchment.

The new plan formed into his head with minimal thought. Evangelina had his wand, which meant she could frame him for any number of crimes. There was a high chance that he could end up in Azkaban by next week. Then no one would be there to be protect Rose, and she needed protection now more than ever. Evangeline was becoming impatient. A lifetime of waiting and planning, and she was ready for it all to come to an end. Luckily, Scorpius knew that her sisters would talk her out of her rash plan to frame him for Rose's murder. That plan had failed, and like all Evangeline's shortcuts, it would be abandoned for the original scheme, but now Scorpius was a liability. If they didn't kill him, they'd frame him for some other crime and put him out of the way in Azkaban. Scorpius had to leave someone else in charge of stopping them if he was going to be killed or arrested.

Who to address the letter to was the more difficult decision. It had to be someone not connected to him as well as a person who could meet with Harry Potter without suspicion. Someone Harry Potter could trust, and someone who would trust Scorpius enough to do as his letter instructed.

Neville and Hannah Longbottom's names appeared on the envelope before Scorpius had even decided, but it felt like the right answer, the only answer. The actual letter practically wrote itself, instructing them to inform Harry not to trust Hank Tyson, to arrest him immediately, and ask him about Antonin Dolohov's daughters.

He sealed the envelope and wrote another message on the back. He did not know any enchantments that would force them to follow his instructions, but he suspected that the Longbottoms were the type of people to trust an anonymous letter written with such obvious desperation.

 _Open Only After the Arrest or Murder of Scorpius Malfoy._

~oOo~

I woke up to darkness, my brain sluggish from the unexpected nap. My hand reached out towards the other side of the bed before I fully remembered why Scorpius should be there. But my fingers found nothing.

My heart didn't drop in surprise and my breath didn't catch in nervousness. No, I expected this. I still had no idea what had happened to make him show up here, but after all his care to make sure our meetings were secret, I knew it had to be something bad.

I stretched my way out of bed and into the common area, perhaps a little hopeful that Scorpius might be there, but even Colette, my owl, was gone. It was a bit early in the night for her to be out hunting. Perhaps she had had a hard time finding mice last night and was hungry. I paid little mind to the empty perch, going straight for the note waiting for me on the table.

 _Apologies for leaving without a goodbye. I was already too tempted to stay. I hope to find you again soon. It would be best if we kept this quiet._

That made my heart drop. 'Hope to find you again'? Well, that message was clear; I was not to go to his secret flat again or go looking for him. My only chance of seeing Scorpius again was trusting him to come to me, and that was only a hope. Scorpius was not a hopeful person. He planned for things to work out so he didn't _have_ to hope.

I was frustrated and I was still tired and I was hungry. I marched over to Isa's room, wanting to ask if she was interested in finding someplace with food, but it was empty. She was probably at Sam's, attempting to woo him into bed again. It was getting late; maybe it had finally worked.

That meant I would be eating alone tonight. I was about to rummage through the kitchen cupboards when someone knocked at the door. Not knowing how presentable I was, I started towards my room to look into a mirror, but the knocking came again, louder and faster. It didn't stop. Then I heard my dad call my name from the other side.

"Dad?" I asked as I opened the door, shocked to see not only him but Mum and Hugo standing side-by-side behind him with their arms around each other. Mum took one look at me and burst into tears. "What's going on?"

"Rosie." Dad stepped forward and put his hands on my shoulders, preparing me for bad news just like he had when I was ten and my favorite stray cat had disappeared. "Molly is dead."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit more into Scorpius's perspective and past. And with that, the past has officially caught up with the present! Be prepared for even more surprises in the next coming chapters. Thank you all so much to everyone who has reviewed, faved, and followed. This story has over 80 followers, which is unbelievable! So glad so many of you are interested in seeing the continuation of this story. I promise the rest will be out soon! I'm still writing the last chapter (having so much trouble finishing it and letting this story go...), so if you haven't gotten a chance to vote on what chaptered story you'd like to see from me next, head to my profile to do that! I will also be publishing two Scorose one-shots within the next week or so—one rather fluffy and one even more angsty than this—so look forward to those to keep you afloat while waiting for the next chapter here. :)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 _the way your words hang in the moment_

 _._

"The Ministry of Magic has been infiltrated. Please report to your designated safe area and wait for instruction. All Aurors are to report to the Auror department."

In the heartbeat after the calm disembodied voice speaks, everyone keeps quiet. Then Dad asks, "That's a bit ironic, innit?"

"That's where they are," Uncle Harry says, his face furrowed in worry. "They're already in the Auror department, whoever they are."

"The Dolohov sisters," Scorpius says, grabbing everyone's attention. His grip on my arms tightens so much it hurts. "The 'they' that are here are led by the Dolohov sisters."

"Dolohov sisters?" Mum and Uncle Harry ask at the same time, their confused expression matching those of Auror Bones and Grayson. It's only Dad who seems to recognise the name, only Dad who Scorpius is talking to.

"What do they want?" Dad asks, all his anger towards Scorpius disappearing as he steps closer.

Scorpius takes a moment, his eyes hard and intense. "A daughter for a mother." Dad's hand grabs my shoulder, gripping almost as tightly as Scorpius is. "And more if they can manage."

I look between the two of them, trying to figure out what is going on. Scorpius told me their target was me, but if I'm the daughter, who's the mother?

Uncle Harry breaks into the tense conversation. "But why are they here? Why the Auror department?"

"That's the front," Scorpius explains, relaying the little bit if information I had gotten from him two days ago. "They needed support, and they found it in people with family members in Azkaban, family members that were sent there because of laws that were passed since you became an Auror."

Scorpius's words seem to lay heavily on Uncle Harry's shoulders. I can't imagine what it must be like to be targeted for so much of your life, and for it to happen again and again. Well, at least now I know what it feels like to be a target.

Scorpius glances around the room from face to face. "Where did Tyson go?"

"He got a memo a few minutes ago," Auror Bones says. "I think he went back to his office."

"I doubt that," Scorpius says with a sneer. "You can't trust him. He works for them, probably alerted them that Rose was here and helped them inside."

Auror Bones's face drops into shock, her face growing pale. She shakes her head but does not argue.

"Then he will be treated like the traitor he is," Uncle Harry says before reaching behind him and withdrawing Scorpius's long, dark wand from his pocket. "Will you defend your fellow Aurors and fight beside them? Beside me?"

"No, no, no." Grayson pushes her way past Mum and Auror Bones to intercept Uncle Harry. "He is still under arrest for attempted murder."

"From the recounts I was told, he saved a life that day," Uncle Harry says, holding the wand out of Grayson's reach "And last time I checked, he was _my_ trainee and under _my_ supervision." He holds the wand back out to Scorpius. "You can fire me later."

Grayson holds her glare for one more moment, then nods her head in approval. "Alright, but once this mess is cleaned up, don't think for a moment his name is cleared."

Uncle Harry nods and looks back at Scorpius. "Well?"

"Of course," he says, taking the wand with a firm grip.

Another crash interrupts the moment, this one more violent than the first. Scorpius, Dad, and I all hit the wall, holding each other up right while Uncle Harry falls into Grayson. Everyone stumbles around, using the furniture and each other to keep upright. As soon as the shutter passes, Dad squeezes my shoulder. "It's time to leave," he says in the gravest voice I've ever heard from him.

"I want to stay," I say, trying not to sound like a petulant child but hearing the slight whine in my voice. "I want to help."

"No," Scorpius says, beating my father by half a second. "You should go, Rose." He locks his eyes on my mine, and I can see how bright they are, ready for a fight. Whether it's against the Dolohovs or me, I know he plans on winning. My shoulders slump in defeat, and I nod reluctantly.

Scorpius then looks over my shoulder at my dad. "You should too, Mr Weasley."

Dad's face freezes into a neutral expression while his fingers tighten on my shoulder. "I don't run from a fight," he says gruffly.

"You've been out of the field for a while, mate," Uncle Harry says, stepping forward to clap Dad on the shoulder. "And you've got a daughter to a protect. This isn't running."

Dad nods, giving Uncle Harry something between a smile and grimace before hugging him. He mutters,"Be safe," before letting go and moving quickly to Mum. She embraces him before he even has his arms out.

I can't believe this is happening. This is it. As the floor trembles beneath out feet in preparation for battle, my dad and I are disappearing and leaving behind the people we love most. I look up at Scorpius again, feeling a weight that my parents and uncles and aunts must have felt all the time during the war. This could be it. This could be the last time I see Scorpius, not because he's travelling or being sent to Azkaban, but because he could be dead. Being an Auror always comes with that risk, but it's never hit me more than now.

"Scorpius," I say before I grab him in a tight embrace. His arms hold me close enough that I can feel the slight tremor in his limbs. Tears gather in my eyes, but I keep them open in the hopes that they won't escape if I don't blink. Then I see Albus and they fall down my cheeks of their an accord. I break away from Scorpius and hug my cousin. "Don't do anything stupidly heroic," I say into his ear.

He chuckles. "I'll try not to," he says, patting my back and pulling away.

Dad waits at the door, beckoning for me. Mum stands at his side. Uncle Harry gives me an encouraging smile and squeezes my arm. I take a step forward even though I feel like it's not the right time, maybe not the right thing to do at all. I glance over my shoulder at Albus and Scorpius, standing side-by-side, and can't help but think of how I'm leaving things.

My legs carry me back to Scorpius, sprinting the short distance until we collide. I grab the back of his neck and bring his lips down to mine with no hesitation form Scorpius. His fingers dig into my back, keeping me as close as possible for those few seconds that we let our mouths express in motions what they have failed to do in words. He apologies, I forgive, and then we step out of each other's arms.

I want to say something more, some lasting word, but there's no need. His right eye crinkles, and I put on a brave smile.

None of it seems real as I walk away from him. Uncle Harry starts talking strategy, his voice hushed as if the enemy could be listening right now. Dad bounces on his feet in the doorway, anxious to leave. Mum grabs me into a hug as well, whispering sentimentalities that don't register in my mind. She hands me over to Dad, who puts on arm around me and leads me into the corridor. I don't look back.

"There's an emergency Apparition room made just for a time like this," Dad says, going into Auror-mode as soon as we leave the interrogation room. He holds his wand aloft and walks briskly but silently across the floor. We can hear shouts from the main chambers of the department, and I force myself not to concentrate on them. Instead, I pull out my own wand, rising it into the same position.

As we turn a corner, Dad mutters, "If my memory's still good, it should be right here," but the tremors of another explosion shake the floor and send us falling to the floor.

This one was close, much closer than the two previous ones, and my thoughts immediately go to everyone still in the interrogation room. What if the explosion was by them? What if they are stuck under rubble right this second, unable to move, buried alive? I push myself to my feet and take one running step back when Dad grabs my arm and stops me. "It wasn't them," he says. "It's not close enough."

"Not yet," I argue, unable to justify this running away. "Why can't they all come with us?"

"Because that's not the plan," he says in his most stern voice that immediately glues my mouth shut. "Our part is to make sure they don't get what they came here for."

He keeps one hand on my arm while he taps a worn portrait of a dire looking man with his wand and mumbles directions under his breath. There's another smaller bang, though it sounds even closer and brings with it a rush of shouting. The man in the portrait looks alarmed and runs out of his frame just as it swings opens. Dad nearly shoves me through the portrait hole, and I land on my feet inside a dark room.

I light the end of my wand as Dad lands beside me and closes the portrait behind him. "Alright," he says, breathing heavily and showing more hesitation than before. He stares at the back of the portrait too long, listening to the commotion growing louder on the other side. When he finally shakes himself out of his reverie, he says again, "Alright, we should go quickly. If they've got an Auror on their side, this'll be the first place he tells them to look."

"So where are we going?" I ask, my hand shaking the light and causing shadows to dance around us.

"Grimmauld Place is probably the safest," he says. "Might give Ginny a fright, but it's the most secure place to go." He continues to rattle on about how we have to Apparate to the stoop, but I stop listening.

If we leave, there's no coming back. Muffled shouting penetrates the wall, and thought I can't make out a voice, I imagine Albus and Scorpius and Mum out there, battling these dangerous people who only want revenge and death. There's the possibility they'll leave when they see I'm not there, but there's an equal chance they will rampage in their anger, hurting everyone I love most. How am I supposed to leave, taking Dad with me, when both of us could help fight? We could be the tipping point that gives our side the advantage. And if I get hurt along the way, if these sisters get what they want and kill me, perhaps they'll let everyone else be.

Scorpius is right, I am too self-sacrificing for my own good.

"I'm not going," I say, interrupting my dad's instructions.

"Yes, you are," Dad says, his stern look turning frighteningly scary in the dim light. "I know you don't see it this way, but this is the best plan for everyone. Those people out there are looking for you, and if they find you-"

"What? What happens? What do they want?" The questions burst out of me like they so often have with Scorpius, and that's when I realize that all the answers I have been searching for are right here in front of me. "You know who these Dolohov sisters are, don't you? You know what they want. You understood what Scorpius said about a daughter for a mother. So who are they? Why are they after me?"

"We don't have time for this. We can talk after we get to Grimmauld Place."

"I'm not going until you tell." The childish threat hangs in the air, and even in the dim light, I can see my dad's face growing red with frustration. Fine, let him be mad. I've waited years to know what exactly is going on and before I leave my loved ones behind, I need to know who I'm leaving them with.

Dad paces around the room, his feet falling heavily on the floor. The commotion outside has lessened, only making his steps louder. With a sigh, he sends a Sticking and Imperturbably charm towards the portrait. "Fine," he says, sending out all of his anger into that one word. He looks back at me and his entire demeanour changes. He shrinks into himself and leans against the wall as he slides down to the floor.

I step forward and sit beside him, holding my wand between us to give us light. "It was a long time ago," he says, already on the defensive. "The war made the world a different place, a much darker place, and the months after Harry killed Riddle weren't much better.

"That summer, we trained to be Aurors, but it was nothing like what Albus and Scorpius went through. It was a dangerous time, and we were sent through a fast-track that had us out there hunting down Death Eaters weeks after we started." He pauses to rub the scars around his arms in a familiar gesture of nervousness. "Harry wasn't often with the rest of us. He picked up on everything quicker, but he was also a huge risk to whatever group he went with. Once the Death Eaters caught sight of him, they went in for the kill.

"So I went to the Dolohov house without him, and it was only me and two full-time Aurors. We were there just to check up on Antonin Dolohov's wife. I dunno if you've read anything about Dolohov, but he was quite a big-name Death Eater."

I try to remember coming across the name in a book or in a lesson, but I was never as interested in the war like Albus and Scorpius were. They were borderline obsessed in school. Now I wish I had paid a but more attention.

"We thought it was going to be an easy thing," Dad continues. "Most of the wives and kids of Death Eaters weren't really involved in the war, and most were willing to tell us what they knew about the remaining Death Eaters. Most of them even asked to go into hiding. But Irina Dolohov was nothing like that."

~oOo~

Autumn had finally set in, freezing the morning. Ron's breaths puffed out in white wisps, dissipating into the shadows. The only light breaking through the clinging darkness was a flickering candle set inside the window of a skeletal mansion. Peeling paint clung on like skin and the exposed stone was tumbling into dust. Even after growing up in the Burrow, Ron could never imagine living in a place like this.

"Remember to keep any hostility in check," Proudfoot said, aiming the question at Ron but keeping his eyes on Dawdle. Dawdle only had a year of Auror work to his name, most of it under the reign of Thicknesse and Dawlish. Proudfoot trusted him as much as he trusted Ron, maybe even less. Proudfoot looked over at Dawdle and groaned. "Put your damn wand away, Dawdle, and don't let me see it out again unless your ears have turned into spiders." It was less, definitely less.

Ron had been on missions like this before, but never for such a powerful Death Eater. He couldn't keep track of most of them, but Ron remembered Dolohov's face. He didn't really see him until that night at the cafe, when he and Rowle had attacked him, Hermione, and Harry after Bill and Fleur's wedding, but even the Death Eater's name made Ron's stomach churn with hate. Dolohov was the one whose spell kept Hermione in the hospital for over a week after the Department of Mysteries. He was the one who would have killed her if he'd been able to speak. Even the thought of him still alive and breathing in Azkaban had Ron's hands in fists.

Okay, maybe Proudfoot had a point in telling them to let go of their hostility. With a few deep breaths, Ron managed to push away his murderous urges and remember the other families he had seen on these missions. Most of them were wives with children, some as old as Ron and others as old as baby Teddy. The mothers always seemed to be in the middle of a scale from uncooperative to battered. Ron even felt sorry for most of them. He was prepared to feel that same way for Irina Dolohov. It couldn't have been easy having such a scoundrel for a husband.

Proudfoot knocked on the wide oak door, the small touch swinging the door open. "Irina Dolohov?" Proudfoot called into the house, the single candle's light casting shadows that made it impossible to see anything but the entrance room. Then a blinding light shot through a doorway at the end of the room and collided into Proudfoot's quick shield charm. "We're not here to hurt you!" he said as another curse hit his shield. He cursed under his breath. "Alright, boys, wands out."

Ron followed the two Aurors into the dusty space, wand raised, but no more spells came through. A hurried whispering came from the same place the curses had, and they rushed towards it with wands lit.

The room was a large kitchen, an island counter separating the Aurors from Irina, a small woman with white hair that aged her even more than the worry lines wrinkled into her face. Beside her were, to the shock of the Aurors, were two girls about Ron's age, one of which was holding a toddler. When did Antonin and Irina Dolohov have children and why didn't anyone at the Ministry know?

"Go!" Irina shouted, pushing her wand into the hand of the daughter with the baby. Ron recognised Antonin Dolohov's long face and dark hair in her before she turned on her heels and Disapparated.

Proudfoot sent a spell Ron didn't recognise towards the daughter and baby, but it hit a second after they vanished. Dawdle sent a binding spell towards Irina while Ron shouted, "We just want to talk!"

Then the two seemed to disappear into the wall behind them. Ron and Dawdle sprinted around the counter while Proudfoot jumped over it and lit up the back door that Irina and her daughter must have slipped through.

Proudfoot flew thought door first with Ron getting through a second before Dawdle. The sunrise stained the sky a dark orange that gave only enough light to see the shadows of the two Dolohov women running into the woods. Ron's long legs caught him up to Proudfoot before they reached the tree line, and he managed to keep that lead as he leapt over rocks and bushes. Ron's mind flashed back to the day he, Hermione, and Harry had run from the Snatchers that took them to Malfoy Manor. The urgency he felt that day drove his mind into panic and pushed his legs to run harder.

As he approached the two women and could see their hair, black and white, trailing behind them as they ran, Ron remembered he was running _towards_ someone, not _from_. His mind stumbled as it brought the past and present into reality, his feet tripping at the same time.

A spell shot past his ear and struck the Dolohov daughter, her limbs snapping to her sides. She fell hard to the ground, but the nearness of that spell sent Ron into survival mode once again, momentarily forgetting the mission as he forced his legs to sprint past the fallen girl and towards the bright light of the edge of the woods.

When he emerged from the trees, the setting sun shone directly into his eyes and blinded Ron. He halted his running and scrunched his eyes closed before putting a hand to his forehand to block the light. About five meters away was a stone bridge that stretched over a short gape in the ground. Ron could only see the marbled clay of the side of the cliffs that the gorge created, but the rushing sound of a violent river told him what lay at the bottom. Irina Dolohov leaned over the edge of the bridge, staring into the depths.

"Wait!" Ron shouted over the slapping water. Irina didn't even turn towards him. She muttered to herself, too softly to hear, and lifted one foot over the railing. "Stop!"

He raced towards the bridge but knew he would never make it. He raised his wand, his arm bobbing as he ran, as Irina hoisted her other foot onto the railing.

" _Petrificus Totalus_!"

~oOo~

Dad leans his head back against the wall and takes a shuttering breath. "I dunno exactly what happened, if my spell hit her or not, but either way she ended up in the river."

His words settle on me like ice-cold snow. This is my dad, confessing that he might have had a part in someone's death. My dad, the strongest and kindest person I know, the man who was once an Auror, who took on his dead brother's joke shop, who raised me and my brother. 'Murderer' doesn't meld in with any of that.

I rest my head on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault," I say.

"Maybe it was," he says in a raw voice I've never heard from him before. "Apparently her daughter's think it was. Evangeline Dolohov saw the whole thing, and when we brought her in for questioning, it was obvious she blamed me. She was so uncooperative, Proudfoot had to force her to drink a Calming Draught.

"Eventually she told us she didn't know anything about the other Death Eaters, that she and her sister, Melinda, hated their father. Apparently, he was rather violent with them. Even after he was put away in Azkaban, he forbade them from going to Hogwarts, and Irina did whatever her husband asked. They shared a wand between the three of them and were getting along okay until Dolohov escaped. That's when Irina had her youngest daughter, Antonia. Dolohov wasn't happy with having three daughters and no sons, so he took off. They never heard from him or any other Death Eater again, didn't even know he was dead until we showed up."

Dad looks up at the portrait, the sounds from outside nearly imperceptible now. "So what happened to her?" I ask, starting to put the pieces together. "What happened to Evangeline and her sisters?"

"They disappeared," Dad answers with a shrug. "We never thought much about them. We let Evangeline go after she refused to accept any help, and none of them every showed up again. We were so busy with other Death Eaters still at large, so there wasn't ever much of an effort to find them." Dad sighs again. "Apparently that was a mistake."

"You think that's what Scorpius meant then?" I ask. "Me, your daughter, for Irina Dolohov, the mother they think you killed?"

Dad flinches at my blunt words, and I immediately regret them. "That's exactly what Scorpius meant," he says. "What I don't fully understand is why they aligned themselves with an Auror-hating group."

"For support," I say automatically, the little bit of information I have from Scorpius escaping my mouth easily. "And a cover."

"How clever," Dad mutters with resentment, then something else seems to click. "That's what Scorpius meant when he told you they were waiting for the right opportunity. They wanted you and me at the Ministry so they could get it all done in one go." He shakes his head, either in awe of their patience or disgusted that they would put so much thought into my death. "And they had that prat Tyson for a spy."

"Yeah…" I say, too distracted to give any proper response. Finally in a quiet place, with everything coming together, it hits me how much planning has gone into this moment. How many people are right outside that portrait, ambushing the unprepared Auror department? Aurors are the best duelers to have around, but the Dolohov sisters have been planning for years. They would have prepared a group large enough and skilled enough to at least hold them off long enough to kill me.

And the plan is for Dad and me to leave? Defense Against the Dark Arts may not have been my _best_ subject, but I was far from being the worst N.E.W.T. student, and Dad's an ex-Auror! We could help!

"We have to help," I say quietly, not even realising I said it out loud till Dad gives me a red-faced look that I know I have to defuse quickly. "Think about it, Dad. If these sisters have any brains at all, they'll have brought a force that's capable of taking on the entire Auror department. They could use all the help they can get."

Dad manages to hold his tongue long enough to let me finish, but he's already shaking his head and standing up. "That's not happening, Rose. I promised to keep you safe and that is what I'm going to do."

"You can't make me leave!" I push myself to my feet too and jab my dad in the chest in the same manor I've seen Mum do many times before.

He stares at me with an open mouth, perhaps seeing the resemblance to Mum a little too well. The moment seems to calm him down, and he says in a cool voice, "You don't understand what this is like, that sometimes you have to do the hard thing, the thing that seems wrong. I've been an Auror, I was there during the war. Sometimes, Rosie, you have to know when to leave."

"But leaving _isn't_ the right thing. I'm not Uncle Harry, Dad. This isn't a case of living to fight another day, this is leaving so those sisters—the enemy—don't get what they want."

"That's important—"

"Not as important as helping to fight right now." I glare at my dad, trying to get this through to him without saying the words, the brutal truth that will kill him to hear. "Maybe it was right to run away when it was you and Mum and Uncle Harry, but I'm not some chosen one. I'm just me, and my death isn't going to mean the end of the Wizarding World. If we leave now and anyone on the other side of that wall gets hurt or killed—" The word catches in my throat, cutting me off before I make my point. I swallow hard against the tears to keep going. "If anything happens to them because of me, how am I supposed to live with myself?"

He flinches as if I hit him with a curse. I know I am bringing up all sorts of memories of the war that Dad hasn't faced in years, and I hate myself for bringing out such a pained expression on my own father's face. But if it saves Mum or Albus or Uncle Harry or Scorpius, it will be worth it.

Dad steps forward and puts his hands on my shoulders. I think I might have done it, I might have broken him down enough so he lets me put myself in danger, but then he shakes his head. "And if I let you go out there and _you_ get hurt, after I had an opportunity to keep you safe? How am _I_ supposed to live with that?"

I don't even have time to think of an answer before the wall explodes and sends both of us to the ground.

* * *

 **End Note:** I hope this chapter was worth waiting for considering it took me a little longer than usual to upload it. Can you believe there're only two more chapters to go? (And possibly an epilogue if it's requested enough...) All the mysteries have been revealed, hopefully to everyone's satisfaction, and I hope you enjoyed this bit of Rose/Scorpius and Ron appreciation. Be prepared for the next chapter because there's going to be a lot of action! To anyone wondering about the poll results, I'll hint that the winning story is a Post-Hogwarts era fic, though I won't reveal which one it is exactly until I've finished this story. As always, reviews/faves/follows and all that stuff is very much appreciated. My resolution this year it to be better about responding to reviewers, so look forward to that if you are so inclined to leave me a few words. And a shout out to my betas as well! Thanks so much!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

 _a heavy hush takes hold_

My shoulder hits the ground, knocking my wand from my hand. The side of my head scraps across the ground, and I can feel the warmth of blood dripping down my temple. I try to look around, but the dust from the explosion blinds me. I'm coughing as I crawl forward, my fingers reaching out and finding my wand. Then my dad fades into view, pulling his ankle out from the debris. He motions desperately at me, but I have no idea what he wants me to do until I see the shadow stepping through the hole in the wall.

"Aw, Rose," Evangeline Dolohov says with a greeting smile. "We meet at last."

Her tall form is outlined by the streaks of spells shooting behind her, making her even more intimidating than she already is from where I'm at on the ground. I keep my eyes on her, though, remembering who she is and what she's done and who she's hurt. I feed off that anger, channelling it into strength to pull myself up to my feet despite the vertigo of my wounded head.

"You" is all I can cough out as I stand, stumbling to my feet. My throat is dry and coated in dust, making it hard to even swallow. I try to raise my arm but gasp in pain and clutch my shoulder with my other hand.

Evangeline laughs, picking her way over the chunks of wall. "I don't even get any fight out of you?" she says, stepping close and training her wand on my chest.

"Stop!" Dad limps towards us, favouring what must be a broken ankle or worse. His wand points straight at Evangeline, his face splattered with dirt but blue eyes—the eyes we share—shining brightly. "Don't touch her."

"Ronald Weasley," she says, turning to face him while keeping her wand at my chest. "How perfect."

He stalks forward, his face grimacing with every step, but he keeps his head high. "Lower your wand, Evangeline."

"Or what? You'll kill me?" She chuckles, a girlish sound from such a terrifying woman. "How about _you_ lower _your_ wand or I kill _her_." I hiss as she digs her wand deeper into my chest.

The sound stops Dad, and his wand hand lowers to his side. "You want to hurt me, hurt me." He puts his arms out, welcoming a stunner or worse.

A satisfied smile twists across Evangeline's face, and for a moment, I think maybe she'll take the offer—and I prepare myself for the pain of lifting my wand again to curse her face off—but then she laughs again. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done that years ago," she says, her voice growing darker and grittier. She switches from joviality to grief in an instant, tears in her eyes. "What I want… is to teach a lesson. A fair and even hurt for what my sisters and I went through. You took my mother. Now I'm going to take your daughter."

Her cold grey eyes come to rest on me, and my heart already feels like it has stopped. This is it. This is the perfect opportunity this insane witch has been waiting for her whole life. If she promised to leave the rest of my family alone forever, I would cast the Killing Curse myself, but my dad's words stick with me. How could I expect him to live with himself knowing his only daughter had been killed for a mistake he made when he was eighteen? I won't let her do that to him.

A red light flies from my wand and hits her chin, knocking Evangeline back from me. It was a weak stunner, but it's enough to send her tripping over the debris and tumbling to the ground. She sends another curse at me, but Dad casts a shield charm right before it hits. It doesn't deter her. Instead, she seems reinvigorated by her hate and frustration, casting curse after curse at the two of us. My wand movements are limited by the blinding pain of moving my shoulder, but Dad sends out his own defensive spells in a way I have never seen him use magic before.

For as long as I've known my father, he's been a stay-at-home dad, the co-owner of a joke shop, and the best shoulder to cry on. The war stories are just stories, tales of my family in a darker time. Now I see it. I see the Auror and the dueler my dad used to be, that he still can be when needed.

His hurt leg hinders him though, his reflexes fast but not fast enough to keep up with Evangeline. I do what I can to help, but we're losing. One faulty move on our part or one lucky shot on hers, and I'm dead.

Then a spell shoots from behind her and flicks her wand from her hand right in the middle of a spell. The wand drops to the ground and is lost in the rubble.

"I should have known you would never listen to me," Scorpius says, picking his way through the piles of plaster with the same ease of walking through a park. I want to run and grab him in a hug, but now is not the time. I grab Dad as his leg finally gives out, supporting him with my uninjured arm.

We hobble forward while Scorpius keeps his wand on Evangeline and his eye on the hole to the corridor. There are still shouts of spells, but it seems lessened now. I hope that's a good thing.

Evangeline brushes the dust from her robes and fixes us with an amused stare. "Should have known you would turn against us, Scorpius." She speaks like a professor disappointed in a failing student. "It really is a shame you'll be attending your parents' funerals along with hers."

"No one is having any funerals," Scorpius says, his attention shifting fully to Evangeline and away from the corridor. "You lost."

"You think that now, but we'll see what happens."

"It won't take long," another voice says from behind Scorpius, and we all turn towards who I can only assume is Melinda Dolohov. She looks exactly like her sister except slightly shorter and with deeper circles beneath her eyes and harsher winkles sagging her skin.

I don't see Evangeline move; all I see is Scorpius spinning back around with his arm up to block his neck. The knife seems to come out of nowhere. One moment, nothing, and the next, it is embedded in Scorpius's arm. He hisses in pain, his wand clattering to the ground, and he hugs his arm towards his middle. I abandon Dad, who throws several spells that Evangeline dodges, and run to Scorpius, helping him to the ground.

"Don't move it and don't take it out," I say, giving it a quick examination. It's not good. I know more about animal anatomy than human, but I recognize a nicked artery when I see one. A steady pulse of blood escapes from around the edges of the blade. Scorpius nods but keeps his mouth closed with clenched teeth, holding in a pain-filled sound as he leans his back against my chest.

"I'm guessing you're Melinda," Dad says, his focus torn between the two sisters but settling on the one with a wand.

"So you do remember us." Melinda's voice is deeper and less sing-song-like than her sister's. I can tell this is the less dramatic, more logical sister, and she wastes no time pointing her wand straight at me.

"No," Dad shouts at the same time Scorpius whispers the same word and hoists himself up to block me. My dad sends several spells at Melinda, who perfectly blocks all of them in a blinding light display, then sends a jinx at Dad's broken ankle. His leg gives out, and he crashes sideways to the floor.

Melinda disarms him and has her wand back on me and Scorpius in a second. Both of our wand arms are too damaged to use, and Scorpius's weight keeps me from running at her. We're defenceless. "You have been nothing but a pest these last few years," she says to Scorpius, raising her wand. She only gets out "Ava—" before a bright red light lights up behind her and sends her to the ground on her belly, unconscious.

Lucius Malfoy steps through, leaning heavily on his cane but wearing a vicious face that frightens me. "Not my family," he says, stalking past Melinda's body.

"When did self-preservation stop running through the Malfoy line?" Evangeline asks, standing from the rubble with her wand back in her hand. "The two of you were so useful, too. It really is a shame."

"Put the wand down." Uncle Harry's voice echoes through the room before he steps in with Albus and the youngest Dolohov sister, Antonia, behind him. She cowers behind Uncle Harry, clutching her wand to her chest. Mum and Auror Bones follow, restraining a bound Tyson between them. They all look drained and bruised, but at least they're all up and walking. Even Dad has recovered enough to get back to his feet. Only Scorpius worries me, his face growing paler and his weight growing heavier against my chest.

"Antonia?" Evangeline asks, staring at her little sister walking amongst the Aurors. "This better not be what it looks like."

"It is," Antonia says in her mouse of a voice. "I can't be a part of killing anyone else, Eve." She steps past Uncle Harry, facing her older sister with no one between them. "I'm sorry."

"You're as weak as Mother." Evangeline's face contorts into a nasty snarl. "You back out when it matters most."

"None of this was my idea. I didn't even know Mother."

"Because he killed her before you were old enough to!" Evangeline shouts, pointing her wand at Dad. Everyone reacts with raised wands, but she puts hers down before anyone Stuns her.

Antonia shakes her head, backing up behind Uncle Harry again. "I never wanted any of this," she mutters.

"You would have rotted away in an orphanage if I hadn't taken you away, but maybe I should have left you there." Evangeline draws back her wand to fire a spell, but Uncle Harry pushes Antonia behind him, sending up a shield that blocks the purple streak of magic. He attempts to disarm her, hitting her own shield charm, but then Antonia sends another one on the heals of Uncle Harry's. It slips through her shield and knocks Evangeline's wand from her hand again.

"How dare you!" Evangeline shrieks, her face ugly and murderous. She dives to the ground, shielding herself from the spells Uncle Harry sends her way. The battle is over, though. The people Evangeline needed on a string have broken free, and all that's left is for Uncle Harry and Albus to bind and arrest her. She struggles against the invisible ropes around her wrists, but Uncle Harry escorts her passed her sisters—one unconscious, one a betrayer—and out of the room. Auror Bones follows behind with Tyson.

Scorpius hisses in pain in my arms, his entire body cold against mine except for the hot blood steadily dripping from the knife wound. "Scorpius," Lucius Malfoy says in soft concern, limping over and falling to his knees beside his grandson.

"We need a Blood-Replenishing Potion now," Mum says, her eyes surveying the pool of blood surrounding us. "Maybe more than one. Albus?" He nods and rushes from the room. Then she turns to Antonia, muttering apologies but asking for her wand before binding her as well. She glances back towards Dad every few seconds, but he's standing again, dragging his broken foot as he walks towards us.

I notice these things in quick glances, my concentration more on Scorpius. I tear away the sleeve of his shirt, exposing the wound completely. The dagger is embedded halfway to the hilt in the centre of his forearm, and steady streams of blood cascade down both sides. My chest constricts my breathing, but I force myself not to see the pain, not to look at his face. I concentrate only on the dagger, bringing to mind all the healing charms I know. None of it will do any good without a Blood-Replenishing potion, though.

Scorpius moans again, his grandfather dabbing at the sweat on his face with a handkerchief. I take his other hand, holding tight enough to make up for his weak grip. "You're going to be okay," I say, my voice coming out stronger and with more steel than I thought I could manage. His eyes blink rapidly, trying to focus amiss the delirious pain.

Where is Albus? I look up towards the jagged hole in the wall, hoping to see Albus racing through, but instead see a female form lifting herself up from the floor. "Mum! Dad!" I shout, but Melinda is already slicing her wand through the hair in a deadly motion. There's no time for me to move. The purple flame soars towards me until a dark shape steps in front of me and blocks the curse.

Lucius Malfoy crumbles to the ground, clutching his middle in pain, but by the time he hits the floor, he's gone. His face is slaked and emotionless beside my knees

Scorpius's hand slips from mine as I stand, facing Melinda with my wand raised. No one else is going to die because of me.

Melinda doesn't pause in her wand work, another purple flame forming before her. I can see a pair of red stunning spells headed towards her from my parents, but they'll reach her too late. I cast the strongest shield charm I can muster, my shouted spell drowning out her own yelled curse.

The purple flame breaks free of her wand as the Stunning spells send her back against the wall. My world is nothing but that violet curse and the faint touch of Scorpius's hand against my ankle. The curse shatters through my shield, and it finally hits me that this is it. No matter what happens now, whether I live or die, my family—and Scorpius—are safe. The danger's gone.

I don't want to give Evangeline and Melinda the satisfaction of my death.

My resolve strengthens my shield, and the bright purple light dims but doesn't stop. There's shouting and then there's pain, like my entire middle has gone up in flame.

Then there's nothing.

centre ~*~/ centre

I wake up to silence in my old bedroom. My stomach aches, my scalp itches, and my eyes are still heavy with sleep.

"Rosie?"

"Hi, Dad."

His tired face lights up into a smile. "Hermione! She's awake!" I flinch at his loud voice, and he gives me an apologetic smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I could use a shower," I grumble, trying to sit up. Dad grabs the pillows and stacks them behind my back to support me. My every movement burns my chest, but as soon as I lean back, the pain dulls.

A pair of pounding footsteps run down the hall, and Mum appears in the doorway. "Rose," she breathes, still panting as she sits at the end of my bed and takes my hand. She smiles for a moment, then her face falls. "Oh, I forgot the soup I made for you." She pats her pockets and sighs. "And my wand."

"I'll get them," Dad says, patting her shoulder and then my head before jogging out of the room.

Mum clutches my hand tighter. "How much does it hurt?"

Her question takes me back for a moment. "Only when I move around."

She nods. "We have potions to help with that," she says, squeezing my hand before getting up and going to my desk. She picks up a piece of paper that looks to be a list of instructions, then begins grabbing phials and measuring them into cups.

"How long have I been out?" I ask, my exhausted brain starting to make connections again.

Mum's hands shake as she sets down a large green bottle. "Three days," she says, her voice steady.

Three days. Not a long time when you're awake and living them, but so much could happen in that time if you aren't paying attention—or unconscious.

"Why aren't I at St Mungo's then?"

"You were for a few hours, but…" Mum pauses, setting down the phial she had been pouring. She picks up two cups and brings them to me, and I have the feeling they will be the first of many. "There are some things you need to know," she says, handing me one cup at a time as I swallow the potions that both taste like toilet water. "The curse that Melinda Dolohov used isn't a normal curse. It isn't even common. It was created by her father, Antonin Dolohov, many years ago."

"So it's like those family jinxes of Uncle Harry's. Like _Levicorpus_ and _Muffliato_?"

"Sort of." Mum stares down at the empty cups as she gathers her thoughts. "Harry didn't make up those spells, but yes, I suppose it's similar."

She doesn't look like she's going to say more, so I continue, "So the Healers at St Mungo's couldn't help?"

"They did what they could, but luckily we knew someone who's dealt with this curse before." Mum stacks the cups so she can take my hand again. "Poppy Pomfrey was the matron at Hogwarts when your father and I were there. She healed me when I was hit with the same curse."

Mum's nerves make sense now. I don't know what to ask first. "How old were you?"

"Fifteen."

"How did it happen?"

"At the Department of Mysteries."

I know that battle. Anyone who went to Hogwarts does. It was the battle that marked the beginning of the Second Riddle War. I had read about it in History of Magic, written essays about it, and memorized the date for my O.W.L.s, but it never felt more real than this moment. I knew Mum and Dad had been there, but it never hit me what that meant before.

"I was unconscious for two days," Mum continues, "and in the Hospital Wing for over a week. The curse is meant to kill on contact, but Dolohov had to cast it non-verbally when it hit me and your shield charm weakened it when Melinda Dolohov cast it on you. It will only hurt like this for a few days, but it'll be tender for a while. And it leaves a scar." Her hand unconsciously toys with the collar of her shirt as she talks.

"I don't care about scars, Mum," I say, squeezing her hand.

"Sorry for interrupting the moment, but your soup is getting cold," Dad says as he walks in holding a large bowl with a dining tray following behind him.

"Let me get the rest of her potions first," Mum says, taking the cups back to my desk and plucking her wand from Dad's back pocket as she passes him. "She can wash them down when she eats."

"And until then." Dad sets down the tray and bowl on the nightstand and puts the bowl on top, then flicks his wand and summons a cup out of Mum's hand. She gives him a sour look as he fills it with water and hands it to me. I drink the whole thing, trying to purge the aftertaste of the potions from my mouth. "I remember how bad those potions taste. I was in the Hospital Wing for a week too." He gestures to his arms and the ropes of white scars circling them. They jump out against his freckled skin like new, like I've never seen them before, but they've always been there. I've never realized how blind I've been to all the signs of war marring my parents. And now I can't unsee them.

"You had two potions," Mum scoffs, returning to the desk and pouring out six more potions for me to drink.

"Doesn't mean they tasted any better than yours."

Mum shakes her head and hands me another cup, having another one in front of me before I even have time to choke down the first. I don't know if she intentionally serves the worst ones last, but by the time a finish gagging on a milky potion that tastes as bad as hippogriff shit smells, I miss the toilet water-tasting ones.

Once I've handed the last cup back to Mum, Dad has already transfigured legs on the tray like a miniature table and set it over my lap so I can eat without moving a muscle. I don't realize how hungry I am until I take the first sip of broth. It's a simple chicken soup, but it tastes more amazing than anything the Hogwarts house elves ever made. I'm halfway done when I realize I've still got so many more questions for my parents, and by the way, my brain feels to be slowing again, I figure that it won't be long before one of the potions Mum gave me puts me out for the rest of the day.

"So where's Hugo?" I ask, since my brother's absence is bothering me the most.

Dad chuckles as Mum gives a guilty grimace. "We sent him out," she says simply.

"We kicked him out," Dad corrects. "Do you have any idea how annoying your brother can be?"

Mum swats at his shoulder, but I laugh. Immediately, my stomach burns again, more intense than before, and I drop my spoon. "Sorry," Dad says, rushing to grab my spoon before it drowns below the surface. "No laughing. Got it."

"It's okay," I say, my voice breathy. I take back my spoon and gulp down a generous portion to dissuade my parents' concerned looks. "So… what happened after I passed out? Is Scorpius okay?" The question only deepens their concerned faces, but they had to know I would ask eventually. My memories are still foggy, but I remember Scorpius and I remember his blood. He has to be okay.

"He's fine," Mum says while Dad silently protests by clamping his lips closed as tight as he can. "Everyone is fine—"

"Except Scorpius's grandfather," I say.

Mum nods, looking down at her hands guiltily. "Yes, except Lucius Malfoy." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "The two eldest Dolohov's are already in Azkaban, along with Hank Tyson and many of the others who were involved in the attack. Antonia is still at the Ministry under questioning. Scorpius has been freed with no charges against him."

"So _where_ is he?"

"Why do you want to know where he is?" Dad asks.

I give him a hard look that matches his, and we probably would have glared at each other indefinitely if Mum hadn't cut it. "He's staying with his parents. There's a funeral for his grandfather this weekend."

"We should go," I say. Mum keeps a straight face, but Dad's face drops into shock. This is going to take a lot of convincing. "We were there when it happened, we should go."

"You won't be well enough by then, Rose," Mum says before Dad can get anything in. "I'm sorry."

I tap my spoon against the soup bowl, no longer feeling that hungry. My stomach is nauseous and my head feels heavy on my shoulders. I don't have the energy to argue or bargain. "I need to talk to him," I say quietly.

"We'll figure something out," Mum says, shooting Dad a 'shut-up' look before removing the bowl and tray.

"Yeah, something," Dad grumbles, helping to readjust my pillows so I'm laying down again. He tucks the covers up around me and kisses my forehead like I'm a little girl again.

I try to argue my point further, to try to make them understand that Scorpius has to know I forgive him—for everything—but I'm asleep before I even formulate the thought.

When I wake up again, my window is black with night. Chasing away the grogginess isn't as hard this time, but sitting up is so much more painful without Dad's help that I nearly give up. I push through the deep burning in my core and lean my back against the headboard, glancing around the room for any sleeping parents in a chair. Apparently, my reemergence into the land of the living has reassured them that they don't have to stand by my side all night.

My wand sits on my nightstand next to two cups and a note. I light my wand and read:

 _Take these when you wake up. They'll help with the pain. See you in the morning. We love you._

The last thing I want to do is take more gross-tasting potions, but there's a sharp line across my middle that throbs after lifting myself up. I gulp them down quick as I can—glad to find they are only the toilet water tasting ones—and fill a cup with water to chase them down.

I lean my head back and feel the pain ebb away. It doesn't completely fade, but I can reach for my wand without hissing in pain.

That's when I start to think that this would be a good time to go looking for Scorpius. I know I'm feeling impulsive out of desperation and, despite my parents telling me he's okay, not quite believing he's fine without seeing him myself. I know I should take the time to process everything that happened that day in the interrogation room, really think about how he nearly killed Hugo, that his secret-keeping actually did kill Molly, and that I have every right to hate him and demand never to see him again. But I also know he did all this to keep me and his parents safe. How can I blame him?

I throw off my duvet and jump out of bed before the pain catches up to me. The burning doubles me over, but it only lasts a second. Then I grab my wand, take a deep breath, and Apparate to the only place I can think that Scorpius might be if he's not at his Diagon Alley flat.

When my feet land on the floor of the secret flat above the bar, the pain crumbles me to my knees. I cry out as tears sting my eyes, feeling as if someone has recast the curse or lit the front of my shirt on fire. It takes what seems like forever to fade, and when I look up to an empty living room, I already know he isn't there.

Forcing myself to stand again, I stumble into the hall and peek into the bathroom and the bedroom, which are both dark and empty. For a moment, I think about collapsing on the bed and waiting for Scorpius to come back like I've done before, but then I hear a pop from the living room. I stumble as fast as I can using the wall for support. "Scorpius?"

The tiny barman with the purple hat spins around, his hand to his chest. "Merlin's beard, you scared me," he says, removing his hat and fanning himself with it. "I thought you might be a Death Eater finally coming to do me in."

"I'm glad _you're_ not a Death Eater, either," I say, realizing how reckless I'm being, as usual, too late. "You're Dedalus Diggle, right?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"And you fought in the First Riddle War?"

"Aw, did your research after you found out Scorpius was staying in one of my rooms, did you?" he asks, replacing his hat on his head.

"Not exactly. It was more Scorpius who did the researching."

"Oh well, I should be happy enough to be recognized at all and not spoil it." He shrugs and goes to the dining table, pulling out a chair. "You look like you could use a seat."

"Thank you." I give him a grateful smile and do my best to walk to the chair without looking too pathetic.

Mr Diggle takes the chair opposite mine and leans his head against his hands. "Might I assume you are Miss Rose Weasley?"

I nod, still short of breath.

"And you are looking for Scorpius?"

"Yes."

Mr Diggle purses his lips and looks down at the table, and I know he doesn't have good news. "I'm afraid to tell you Scorpius is no longer a resident of the _Fawkes and Viksen_. After the attack on the Auror office, he told me he was no longer in need of a place to stay hidden.'

I knew that would most likely be the case, but I still feel disappointed. He would have come here before going to his flat in Diagon Alley, but since he's not here, he must be at Malfoy Manor. That's not a place I can just drop by.

"Now, I don't know much about what happened," Mr Diggle says, reaching across the table to pat my arm. "I fought my two wars and try not to get involved in anymore. But I can tell you that Scorpius did what he thought he had to. He's a good person."

"I know," I say. "I think I've already forgiven him."

Mr Diggle watches me with wary eyes. "Have you?"

"Of course," I say too quickly, reconsidering when Mr Diggle fixes me with a sceptical look. "Well, to be honest, I don't know if there's much to forgive."

"Oh, you would have done the same thing?"

"No, definitely not." I take a moment to think before continuing. "I wouldn't have been able to do everything he did. I would have told someone, probably him, probably _everyone,_ and gotten a lot more people killed."

Mr Diggle nods his head. "You know, in situations like these, there's not always a right decision. There's not even always a wrong decision. It tends to make one think you could have done better."

"Which is why I need to talk to him," I say, feeling rushed again. "I need to tell him he did the right thing."

"You will," Mr Diggle says with more confidence than I'm feeling. He pats my arm again and stands. "Scorpius is good at disappearing, but he'll come back, I'm sure."

I swallow against my nervousness. He's right, Scorpius is very good at disappearing, and he's had three days to do so. My only hope of speaking to him again is trusting that he'll find me.

As Mr Diggle takes his wand from his pocket and prepares to Apparate away, I ask, "Why did you come up here?"

He smiles. "To do some cleaning up for the next tenant, but it seems Scorpius didn't leave a trace of himself behind." He taps the back of his chair with his wand, seeming to be lost in thought for a moment. "When you do see him again," he says at last, "tell him that I'm sorry as well."

"Sorry? For what?"

Mr Diggle sighs before looking right into my eyes. "I was not always as understanding as I should have been. He's lucky to have you." He gives me one last smile before spinning and disappearing into the air.

* * *

End Notes: I cannot apologize enough for how late this update is. I planned forever to add more to the beginning, actiony parts of this chapter since it all seemed so quick for all the build-up. But I haven't been able to make myself satisfied with it and instead of letting this chapter sit on my computer for another 6 months, I've decided just to upload to give everyone waiting around for a continuation an update. There is still once more chapter to go that I'm in the middle of writing. Hopefully, it won't take me quite so long to get it up. Thanks so much for the patience and all the wonderful reviews. All of you lovely readers are amazing. :)


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